One of the first groups of workers called out by the Trades Union Congress when the general strike began on 3 May were the printers, and consequently most newspapers appeared only in truncated form.

In order to propagate the government's point of view His Majesty's Stationery Office decided to produce an official publication printed on the presses of the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill, a former journalist, was appointed the paper's editor and wrote much of its material.

[1] On 7 July 1926, at the end of a debate in Parliament on whether to grant the money to pay for the British Gazette, Churchill responded to Labour MP A.

"[2] The statement drew laughter and applause from both sides and defused some of the lingering political tension in the debate.