408 409 - 2 -

POLICY COMMITTEE
Thursday, 20th March, 1941.

Present:

Minister

D.G.

D.D.G.

P.S.

Sir Maurice Peterson

Lord Davidson

Sir Kenneth Clark

Mr. Wellington

Mr. Gates

Mr. Ogilvie

Sir Noel Ashbridge

Mr. Valentine Williams

Mr. Ryan

Mr. Herbert

Mr. Waddell (Secretary)

1. The minutes of the meeting on 13th March were taken as read and approved.

Mr. Ogilvie reported on two points referred to in the minutes of the previous meeting:

(a) The move of the Oversees Sections to Bush House had taken place on Monday, 17th March; in this connection he mentioned that with the constant need for expansion in the Overseas Services there would, no doubt, come a time when even Bush House would be inadequate. The Minister said he hoped to visit Bush House shortly and he asked the B.B.C. to prepare a brief for the debate the following Tuesday in which Mr. Noel Baker was intending to criticise B.B.C. accommodation.

[B/12/9.]

(b) The B.B.C. were preparing a paper in connection with the point mentioned at the previous meeting about appointing an Intelligence staff in Latin America. The additional cost would be about £4,000 per annum.

[B/105.]

Sir Kenneth Clark reported that it would not now be possible to keep the promise made in the Sunday newspapers that the public would receive the invasion leaflet within ten days, since the Prime Minister's Introduction had not yet been received; the Minister said he was in touch with the Prime Minister's Private Secretary on this question.

[GP/267]

[X/]

2. EAST COAST TRANSMITTER.

[RC/31/15]

The D.D.G. said that since the paper before the meeting was prepared Sir Noel Ashbridge had suggested that in view of the difficulties connected with the Brookmans Park site a return should be made to the original site at Halesworth. Sir Noel Ashbridge suggested that the original reason for abandoning Halesworth might not be so strong at this date. It had been recognised to be vulnerable at a time when France had collapsed and invasion of the coastal areas was expected almost hourly. If a start were made now it would be some nine months or more before anything much worthwhile bombing would be in evidence and by that time we might have sufficient command of the air to give full protection. He explained that it would be possible to secure the site and building materials and that labour might be the main difficulty since men would have to be brought from the nearest town. Some of the plant was already in an advanced stage of preparation.

The Minister said he did not feel that the change in the air situation was yet very great, but he agreed that it would be worthwhile to consult the Fighting Services on this new proposal to return to Halesworth and it was agreed that a meeting of the Additional Transmitters Committee should be held as soon as possible, at which the Services would be fully represented. Sir Noel Ashbridge agreed to prepare a short paper for this Committee and the D.G. suggested that we should bear in mind the possibility of expediting the next meeting of the Policy Committee in order to consider the conclusions reached.