Minutes of the Eleventh Meeting of the sub-committee, held in the Secretary's Room, Great George Street, S.W.1. on Tuesday, 2nd March, 1943, at 11.30 am

2. PUBLICITY AS REGARDS CONVICTIONS AND SENTENCES OF COURTS MARTIAL IN SECURITY CASES. THE SUB-COMMITTEE were informed that the Admiralty were opposed to any general publicity being given to the proceedings, findings and sentences of courts Martial in security cases. The number of such cases in the Royal Navy was small. Moreover, the conditions of service in the Navy were different from those in the other Services and the severity of the sentences for similar offences accordingly differed between the Services. Any publicity, therefore, might lead to uninstructed public comment. It was the practice in the Navy to give a limited publicity within the Service to such cases, but the Board of Admiralty were not prepared to go further than this. After discussion, THE SUB-COMMITTEE:- Agreed that, as it did not seem possible to reach an agreed policy on this matter, each Director of Intelligence should make his own recommendations to his own Chief of Staff regarding publicity in his Service in cases of this nature. 3. O.S.S. IN INDIA. THE SUB-COMMITTEE had before them a Note by the Secretary of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (C.O.S.(43)85(0)) regarding a proposal that had been made for the establishment in India of a branch of the office of Strategic Services. A meeting had been held of the interested Departments in whic a draft telegram to the Viceroy of India and a draft telegr from the Chiefs of Staff to the Joint Staff Mission in Washington were prepared. These telegrams had been referre to the Joint Planning Staff and the Joint Intelligence Sub- Committee for their comments before approval to them was sought from the Chiefs of Staff Committee. After discussion, THE SUB-COMMITTEE:- Instructed the Secretary to inform the Joint Planning Staff of their opinion that it was essential from the Intelligence point of view that any activities of the Office of Strategic Services in India should be under the control and direction of the Commander-in-Chief and 'C'. Subject to this, they had no comments to offer on the draft telegrams. 4. POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE BALKANS. THE SUB-COMMITTED had before them a Minute from Colonel Vickers to the Secretary dated 26th February, 1943, (JIC/263/43) suggesting that a study should be made of the situation in the Balkans. It was possible that Germany's hold over her Balkan Allies might weaken sufficiently for them to abandon their alliance with the Axis or to start fighting among themselves. -2-