One supplementary question, to which no answer was returned, in
the House of Commons on Tuesday raised an issue which the Prime Minister ought to face firmly. " Does not this incident," asked Commander Fletcher, " emphasise the desirability of the Secretary of State for Air being a member of this House ? " It did. And so do a great many other considerations. Quite apart from the general question of Lord Swinton's suitability for the position of Secretary for Air—a subject on which much might be said —it is obviously of the first importance that the holder of that particular office should be in a place where he can *face, and be questioned by, the nation's elected representatives. Air-war, if it ever comes, is going to touch the common citizen of this country far more closely than military or naval warfare, and, quite apart from that, the importance of civil aviation to the material welfare of the country and the Commonwealth increases daily. The matter was not quite so urgent when Sir Philip Sassoon was Under-Secretary, for he had held that post for over ten years and knew far more about the Air Ministry than his chief. It is no reproach to his successor, Colonel Muirhead, to say that he could not possibly possess the same knowledge or command the same authority. The demand for an Air Minister in the Commons ought to be strongly pressed.
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