Oral Answers to Questions — Ministry of Information – in the House of Commons at on 10 March 1943.
Mr Richard Stokes
, Ipswich
asked the Minister of Information what instructions were sent by or through his Department to the Press in this country and to the war correspondents in North Africa suggesting that the performance of the A 22 tanks in the recent operations had been satisfactory?
Mr Brendan Bracken
, Paddington North
None, Sir.
Mr Richard Stokes
, Ipswich
Is it pure coincidence that immediately following the army Debate there was an absolute spate of reference to this matter all over the Press?
Mr Brendan Bracken
, Paddington North
That was entirely due to the brilliant speech made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for War.
Mr Edgar Granville
, Eye
Is it not a fact that the right hon. Gentleman on these matters has as much power as Dr. Goebbels has in Germany?
Mr Brendan Bracken
, Paddington North
It certainly is not a fact; and it never will be.
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.
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.
