War information. Would be glad if you would take up with United
Kingdom authorities the general question of release here of war
information. Under present conditions Government is caused
frequent embarrassment by inability to confirm or deny from
information available to it reports received from London by press
or radio. This applies even to official statements of United
Kingdom Government of which at times only knowledge Government can
claim in response to questions in House is from unofficial
sources.

One aspect of this question was dealt with in External Affairs
telegram No. 92 of 29th November [1], last, to Stirling [2], to
which United Kingdom Departments returned negative reply. Another
aspect has been illustrated by experience with Chamberlain's
statement on 2nd May on Norway. [3] In this case not only was
official text of statement received considerable time after radio
reports which compelled Government to rely in statement to House
here [4] on more or less garbled summary, but we noted also with a
good deal of surprise that the statement as made disclosed for the
first time several facts of importance which had not been even
secretly communicated beforehand to Commonwealth Government.

Again today B.B.C. announced at Li a.m. our time that Dutch army
capitulated. Twelve hours later we are still without any official
advice.

I feel that there is possibly not proper appreciation in London of
our difficulties here in these respects, and that without
detriment to secrecy or to any of the other considerations set out
in Stirling's telegram No. 708 of 7th December last [5], something
could be done to meet our requirements. These may be briefly
recapitulated as-
(1) the possession in advance of important information which is
likely sooner or later to be given release in London; and
(2) definite advice where possible of United Kingdom Government's
intention to give such release with intimation of approximate time
and form in order that we may be in a position to make similar
announcement here without being at the disadvantage of learning
first of release through unofficial sources.

Also suggest that some news could, where of public notoriety in
Europe, be sent en clair.