351 352 - 2 - 353 - 3 -

SECRET
[Copy on R.P.O's London's Awake]
RC 73/10
EXECUTIVE BOARD
Friday, 7th March, 1941.

Radio-Telephone Communications with Lisbon and Madrid

INTRODUCTION

1. Since the fall of France Lisbon has became the most important news - and travel - focus of Europe. It is a particularly valuable source of news from Vichy, news of Latin interest and of news carried by refugees.

2. Hot news has to pass from Lisbon or Madrid to London by telegraph. Although the average delay on this route is 3 hours and 2½ hours respectively, many important news telegrams are taking over 24 hours to reach London. Messages can, however, pass direct from Lisbon or Madrid to Germany, and also between Madrid and most of the Latin - American States by telephone direct.

3. One of the chief deficiencies in British news for the American and foreign services is the lateness of all classes of news referred to in (l) above. Reuters and A.F.I. have been pressed by their agents, and we have been pressed by the missions in South America, to improve the flow even by telegraphing a special service to South America from Portugal which, in the case of Reuters alone, would cost about £4,000 per annum.

4. The use of a radio-telephone link is regarded by the Ministry, the missions in Lisbon and Madrid, and the news agencies concerned, as a means of correcting the delay with a consequent improvement of the inward service. The proposal to open the link has also been strongly supported by six important London newspapers. It was referred - with the strong support of the Ministry of Information - to the Standing Interdepartmental Committee on Censorship.

DECISION OF THE STANDING INTERDEPARTMENT COMMITTEE ON CENSORSHIP

At a meeting held on the 1st January, 1941, the Ministry of Information, Foreign Office, Ministry of Economic Warfare, and the G.P.O., favoured the reopening of the link. The Service Departments objected, but said that they would not press their objections if the service were restricted to Government Departments, diplomatic representatives and duly authorised press correspondents. The Committee agreed to recommend the opening of both services subject to stringent measures of control, under conditions to be further defined.

5. At a meeting held on 22nd January, the Committee decided that the facilities should not be extended to the press in general, but invited the Ministry of Information to consider what (if any) arrangements could be made through the Press Attachés at H.M. Embassies in Lisbon and Madrid, for giving limited facilities to specially selected news agencies.

It is understood that this condition involved the making of telephone calls from the Embassy.

VIEWS OF THE MINISTRY

6. The Foreign Division is understood to feel:-

(a) That the Embassies would have objections to allowing commercial news agencies to telephone from their buildings.

(b) That discrimination in favour of Reuters and Exchange Telegraph might lead us into trouble with the correspondents of newspapers stationed in Spain and Portugal.

(c) That such arrangements would provoke hostility in both the Spanish and Portuguese Administrations.

The Communications Division is not primarily concerned with (a) but observe that if no censorship is imposed at the Embassy there appears to be little safeguard; and while the responsibility for the security aspect does not reside with the Ministry of Information, it is at least relevant to enquire whether the opening of a radio-telephone link between Lisbon and London affords any more prejudice to the security of shipping than the radio and other communication links which run between Lisbon and Berlin. There was a radio-telephone link between London and Denmark from November 1939 to the time of the invasion.

As to (b), it would be necessary to add A.F.I. to the list of users of the telephone, and very difficult to discriminate between the three agencies and the correspondents of the six London newspapers who have already expressed interest. Moreover, it would be scarcely practicable to attempt to exclude the correspondents of other nationalities from the facility, and to do so would probably provoke the hostility referred to in (c).

It is understood that the Press and Censorship Division has no objection if there is suitable monitoring as for previous radio-telephone arrangement: but the Postal and Telegraph Censorship's view is not known.

ACTION DESIRED

7. It is suggested that in the present circumstances every possible channel of communication in and out of this country should be opened up: and that in view of the special importance of Lisbon, the use of the radio-telephone link for duly authorised correspondents of the press in general should be demanded. To do this it will be necessary to go back to the Standing Interdepartmental Committee on Censorship and inform them that the Ministry of Information is unable to suggest any arrangements under which limited facilities could be given to specially selected news agencies. It follows, therefore, that the Ministry is unable to agree to the proposition that these facilities should not be extended to the Press in general, and would ask the Committee - in view of the great importance attached to this link by the Ministry and other Departments - to reopen the question without the conditions to which the Ministry is unable to agree. There may be other conditions which would give rise to no difficulty: in particular, the prohibition of conversations between correspondents might be considered.

5th March, 1941

[1 Sam Hoare]

[2 [illegible] - Americans]

[3 [illegible] Why?]