§ 61. Mr. Hector Hughesasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware of the recent unexplained diminution in the number of national newspapers in Great Britain; and if he will set up a Royal Commission to inquire whether this restriction on the publication of news and on the free expression of opinion is or is not contrary to the interests of Great Britain.
§ Mr. R. A. ButlerI am aware of the public interest and concern aroused by the recent discontinuance of theNews Chronicle and the Star. I share the general regret, inasmuch as the expression in a free Press of all shades of opinion is a feature of our way of life that we all want to maintain. But the intervention of the Government in the affairs of the Press is not a thing to be undertaken lightly. I am not convinced that the situation calls for the appointment of a further Royal Commission. I am not clear what fresh recommendations such a body could make.