Clement Attlee's new cabinet was scarcely 24 hours old before one of its members was under heavy attack from Lord Beaverbrook's London Evening Standard and his morning Daily Express. The object of Beaverbrook's wrath was bright, balding John Strachey, 48, whom Attlee had just promoted from Minister of Food to Secretary of State for War. The Standard called Strachey "an avowed Communist [who] has never publicly retracted his belief in Communism." The attack touched an exposed nerve: the British public has been shocked by the laxity of military intelligence services disclosed by the...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
