On 24 October 1961, a group of campaigners including J. M. Richards, the editor of the "Architectural Review", went to see Harold Macmillan, the Conservative Prime Minister, to plead for the preservation of the arch, arguing that if it really had to be moved, that it should be dismantled and re-erected elsewhere. As J. M. Richards recalled, ""Macmillan listened – or I suppose he listened [...] he sat without moving with his eyes apparently closed. He asked no questions; in fact he said nothing except that he would consider the matter"."