SECRET
EXECUTIVE BOARD FRIDAY, 28th JANUARY 1944.

PRESENT :

The D.D.G.

Mr. Francis Williams

Admiral Carpendale

Mr. Cruikshank

Mr. Royds

Mr. Grubb

General Tripp

Brigadier Neville

Mr. McGregor

Mr. Kirkpatrick

Mr. Gates

1. REPORTS FROM SERVICE ADVISERS.

2. BOOKS FOR REOCCUPIED COUNTRIES.

[LE/97/397/13.]

Arising from a previous discussion at the Board on the choice of Harold Laski's “Reflections on the Revolutions of our Time”, for translation into Italian, Mr. Grubb explained the system by which books are selected for circulation in reoccupied countries. The joint arrangement is that P.W.E. have their say as to policy and the Ministry of Information make the arrangements for publication. This Ministry do, however, reserve the right to make objections on policy grounds. The case of Italy was complicated by the fact that the directing body were P.W.B., Algiers, and P.W.E. acted more or less as a post office for them. P.W.B. had stated that they wanted three books by leading writers representing main groups of opinion in this country, and they had selected Professor E.H. Carry on the Right, Harold Laski on the Left and Christopher Dawson as the Catholic group. The proposal to select Mr. Harold Laski's ‘Reflections on the Revolutions of our Time” had been discussed and properly approved before Mr. Laski was approached. Mr. Grubb agreed that the system of selection of books gave this Ministry very little opportunity of effectively participating in the formulation of policy; and that the lack of any clear lines of policy was unsatisfactory. He was invited to discover if the machinery of selection could be improved and to report to the Board.

N.B. No Minutes have been issued since Monday, 24th January 1944.