(For atmosphere.)
"This is the BBC Overseas Service."
"Here is the News for Today, Monday, the 8th of January, and this is Alvar Liddell reading it."
"The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Clement Attlee, has initiated a reshuffle of the Cabinet, citing a need to adapt to a changing world situation and better fit the talents of his Ministers. The changes were as follows. The noted anti-fascist diplomat Hugh Dalton, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, has been appointed as Foreign Secretary, while Stafford Cripps, the former President of the Board of Trade, has replaced him as Chancellor, placing them in the positions that they had been widely expected to occupy after the last year's General Election. Arthur Greenwood has been appointed as the new President of the Board of Trade."
"In the final and most controversial part of the Cabinet reshuffle, Ernest Bevin, formerly the Minister of Labour and National Service and most recently the Foreign Secretary, has been appointed to the position of Minister of Defence, formerly part of the Prime Minister's portfolio. As a part of this change, the positions of Secretary of State for War, Secretary of State for Air, and First Lord of the Admiralty have been demoted from Cabinet level, but their former holders appointed as Ministers without Portfolio.
"It is speculated that Mr. Bevin's shift in position was prompted by his aggressive conduct towards Soviet diplomatic officials during negotiations since the end of the War, and the need for more conciliatory diplomacy in the coming years. However, Downing Street has denied this, noting in their statement that this promotion was 'to allow the Prime Minister to focus on the business of governing the country, and to place the most important matter of Defence into the most capable hands available'."
"The new Cabinet has announced that it will despatch a special mission to India as soon as possible in order to discuss arrangements for the independence of India. It will be led by Frederick Pethick-Lawrence, the Secretary of State for India and A.V. Alexander, the former First Lord of the Admiralty and now Minister without Portfolio, and joined in the Subcontinent by Lord Archibald Wavell, the Viceroy of India. They will meet both seperately and jointly with the leaders of the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League, as well as with representatives of ethnic and religious minorities, in order to meet Britain's commitment to a peaceful and orderly process of the full independence of the Dominion of India."
"London is preparing to host the first meetings of the new United Nations General Assembly and United Nations Security Council later this week. The meetings will be held at the Methodist Central Hall and Church House, respectively. The BBC understands that the Metropolitan Police are making arrangements to restrict traffic and ensure security for the meetings, and are requesting that the public avoid approaching the buildings unless absolutely necessary. Senior plenipotentiaries from the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union and the Republic of China are expected to be in attendance at the Security Council meeting. The former Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill, has denounced the constituency of the Security Council, arguing in the Commons for the seating of the French Republic, but the Government has rebutted his proposals."
"And now, before we move to international news, the sports..."
