MR. HORE-BELISHA'S ARTICLE
notice from a paragraph in your last issue that you are not clear as to the purpose of the questions put to the Prime Minister regarding the censoring of an article by Mr. Hore- Belisha in a Sunday newspaper. Perhaps, therefore, as one of the questioners, you will permit me to throw some light on the subject. It will be agreed that censorship of political opinion is in general undesirable. In this case there is ample evidence, including the statement of the Prime Minister, that the censored passages were not in themselves objectionable. The fact that they were cut out on the instructions of the Govern- ment gave an enormously increased publicity to the article. The action of -the Foreign Secretary in redrafting it in a form that he considered more satisfactory to the Government, was open to misinterpretation as an attempt to put into the mouth of the late War Minister views that were not his.
The fact that questions were asked on the subject will un- doubtedly do much to encourage caution in taking any action of the kind in future. This is the first instance, I understand, since the war that the expression of political opinion by a Member of Parliament has been censored.
A further issue arises out of the whole episode, whether in the future there should not be some understanding as to a close season for ex-Ministers after resignation, during which they will not be expected to write for the Press.—Yours faith-
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