Oral Answers to Questions — British Army. – in the House of Commons at on 8 April 1941.
Sir Geoffrey Mander
, Wolverhampton East
asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will give par- ticulars of the recent removal by air of Italian civilians from Italian Somaliland and state what negotiations took place on the subject; and how many persons have been removed?
Mr Richard Law
, Kingston upon Hull South West
I have no information of the report to which my hon. Friend refers.
Sir Geoffrey Mander
, Wolverhampton East
Has not the Minister seen a statement to the effect that it has been done without the knowledge of the War Office?
Mr Richard Law
, Kingston upon Hull South West
The only statement I have seen is a communiqué from Reuter's. We have had no other information.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
