The Press: Attlee's Early

The traditional hush of No. 10 Downing Street was broken last week by the sound of a precedent being shattered. Clement Attlee got himself a press secretary.

The Prime Minister's new Steve Early is one of the bright boys of British Socialism: chunky, rumpled, pipe-smoking Francis Williams. Reporters from many nations had applauded Francis Williams' deft handling of British publicity at the San Francisco conference. He convinced Tory Anthony Eden that Britain stood to gain by letting the press in on what went on; consequently, the correspondents' behind-the-scenes picture came to them mostly through British eyes.

Newsman's Education. Francis Williams, 42—he looks younger—is...