At last a British spokesman has made a clear statement of policy, which even the densest enemy of the British Empire hardly can fail to understand. Speaking in London last evening, at the annual dinner of the Royal Institution of International Affairs, the Foreign Secretary, Viscount Halifax, addressed most of his remarks directly to Germany, and if henceforward there is any doubt in Berlin regarding the British attitude, the Germans will have only themselves to blame. The threat of force, said Lord Halifax , was holding the world at ransom, and it was the immediate task of the British people to resist aggression. The Royal Air Force had nothing to fear from any of its rivals; the Navy was unchallengeable; and "in the event of further aggression, we are resolved to use the whole of our strength in fulfilment of our pledge to resist it."
The Irish Times, June 30th, 1939.