Sir Oswald Mosley
Part of the 大象传媒's response to the Depression was a series about politics as part of an initiative to empower ordinary people in public affairs. But it ran into opposition when the producers decided that The Citizen and His Government, a string of radio talks, should include contributions from two figures at extreme ends of the political spectrum.
First, the Foreign Office objected to the inclusion of Harry Pollitt, an active Communist who had recently addressed Stalin's Third International (communist forum) in Moscow. And three weeks later, after the Fascist Italian government had ordered the invasion of Abyssinia, the same department objected to the inclusion of Sir Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists.
These objections were considered by the Board of Governors, whose response was to invite the Government to use its own powers to block the programme - knowing that such a step by a democratically elected government would be highly risky, and therefore unlikely.
The series was put on hold for the General Election that autumn, but it did not go away. When the Governors heard that the series had been rescheduled, they again wrote to Whitehall. The 大象传媒 was prepared to pull the advertised talks, said the letter, but only if it could cite Government anxiety as the reason.
The Government batted the issue back in a little game of brinkmanship. Foreign Office minister Lord Stanhope effectively dared the 大象传媒 to run the series, knowing that the question of a new Charter was coming up for discussion.
At this the Governors buckled. Cabinet minutes recorded congratulations when Prime Minister Baldwin reported that the Pollitt and Mosley talks had been withdrawn.