§ Squadron-Leader Hulbertasked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware that articles on aviation subjects intended for publication in British journals have to be submitted to Department A.I.6 of the Air Ministry in addition to the Ministry of Information; and what is the reason for this dual censorship which causes delay in publication?
Captain BalfourMy hon. and gallant Friend is under a misapprehension. Only a very small proportion of articles of the kind referred to have to be so submitted. Submission is required in two cases only; first, where the article results from the grant by the Air Ministry of special facilities such as permission to enter an R.A.F. aerodrome, or from access to sources of confidential information. In these cases, for security reasons, the Air Staff must wish to see the article before publication. Secondly, where in any particular instance the Air Adviser to the Censorship Bureau at the Ministry of Information is not himself prepared to give a ruling involving some important aspect of security without reference to the Air Staff. In both these cases the branch known as A.I.6 is responsible directly to the Air Staff for effecting the164W necessary consultations and works in close contact with senior officers of the Air Staff. I would add that for the convenience of the Press, arrangements are now being made for the scrutiny of material in the first of these two classes to be carried out by the Air Ministry's representatives at the Ministry of Information.