SECRET
POLICY COMMITTEE
Paper for discussion on Thursday, 5th September.

N.B.B.S.: Request from the Swinton Committee

3rd September, 1940.

Dear Scorgie,

I see that the N.B.B.S. is adopting a new line and advocating violence against people who support the war, whom they term “warmongers”. I expect you have already seen this and have been considering it. If not, will you look at the transcript of their broadcasts - 27th August, paragraphs 34 to 43, and 28th August, paragraphs 33 to 37.

I should like to have the considered view of your Ministry whether a further exposure of this Station is desirable.

Yours sincerely,

(sgd.) SWINTON.

Peace Movements

Note by the Director-General

Peace movements may be divided into three categories:

1. Conscientious peace lovers who seek peace and pursue it, and who may be relied upon not to do what is wrong.

2. Those who profess to seek peace because they are afraid of war, with whom reason may prevail, and whose other feelings or emotions must be played upon until they have courage enough to take their part in the nation’ s endeavour

3. Those who profess to seek peace because they are agents or tools of the enemy. These must be sought out and dealt with drastically. These people may resort to violence in the cause of peace, and no tool will be safe in their hands.

Conscientious objectors fall to some extent into the same three categories. I believe that the Ministry of Labour have been in some difficulty as to the treatment of conscientious objectors. It might be worthwhile for the B.B.C. to have a suitable broadcast dealing with this problem as a whole in one of the talks. Positive treatment of the matter in this way would be far better than any negative treatment, which would be by way of reference to the broadcasts now coming from Germany urging the peace party to resort to violent measures to secure peace - a contradiction in terms.