At a meeting on the 1st July between Dalton, Hankey, Lord Loyd the Colonial Secretary , Cadogan, Gladwyn Jebb Dalton's man, Desmond Morton from Churchill's private office, the merger of all the departments under a single umbrella was agreed

Dalton convinced Atlee that this was the best way to go. He succeeded. Atlee presented Dalton's views to Churchill and his fledgling idea was transformed into being.

On the 9th July 1940 Attlee informed Dalton that he was to do something in addition to his duties at the Ministry of Economic Warfare. Churchill would have preferred that Lord Swinton took control of Special Operations Executive's eventual destiny. But Dalton enlisted the help of Alexander, First Lord of the Admiralty, who had taken over Churchill's old post to persuade Attlee that Dalton was up to the job.

It was this and the insistence of Labour peer Clem ATTLEE who was in the War Cabinet, that Dalton got the position.

On the 16th July 1940 Dalton was officially told he was to form what was eventually Special Operations Executive, with the words from Churchill "And now, Set Europe Ablaze"

Clem Attlee

On the 22nd July Special Operations Executive's Charter was formed in a meeting of the War Cabinet. Chamberlain, Halifax, Attlee, Greenwood, Churchill "It declared that the purpose of the new body was to co-ordinate all action by way of subversion and sabotage against the enemy overseas."

The war cabinet further laid down "the activities should not be raised in Parliament and that the Minister of Economic Warfare should be given Absolute Powers of direction, subject only to the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill"