Tension at St. Martin’s-Le-Grand

Abstract

Bevins had received the congratulations of the Prime Minister for his work in producing the first White Paper, and he was determined not to let grass grow under his feet. Consequently, whilst Parliament was debating during the summer of 1962, the ‘too-powerful’ Director General of the ITA and his senior colleagues found themselves involved in continuing discussions with the civil servants at the Post Office. Spontaneous reactions to Pilkington by press and Parliament had on the whole been reassuring; and the fact is that the fight in which the ITA eventually found itself engaged was not with the forces of public disapproval but with a tough, ambitious Minister of the Crown aided and abetted by a top official of unusual acumen and tenacity.