in strategy, Robertson was also determined to stand solid with Haig, telling him (26 April 1916) that they finally had the civilians "into a corner & have the upper hand". Prelude to the Somme Robertson was contemptuous of the House Grey Memorandum (early 1916) and of President Woodrow Wilson's offer to mediate in May 1916. Robertson and Hankey were sent from the room on 24 May 1916 so the politicians could discuss the offer, and McKenna (Exchequer) later told Hankey that he, Asquith, Grey and Balfour, but not Bonar Law or Lloyd George, had been in favour of accepting because of "the black financial outlook". The plan was stopped when the entire Army Council, including Kitchener and Robertson, threatened to resign. At first Robertson tried to limit information to the War Committee only to a summary of news, most of which had already appeared in the newspapers – this was stopped by Hankey (who called it "really almost an insult to the intelligence of the War Committee") and Lloyd George (22 April – 3 May 1916) when it was discovered that Robertson had moved troops from Egypt and Britain to France with little reference to the War Committee. (Given the logistical difficulties, Robertson scoffed at suggestions that the Turks might invade Egypt, and by July, on his orders, Murray had shipped out 240,000 of the 300,000 British Empire troops in Egypt, including nine infantry divisions, three independent infantry brigades and nine heavy artillery batteries, most of them going to France, leaving him with four Territorial divisions and some mounted troops.) In late May Haig and Robertson also angered ministers by challenging their right to inquire into the shipping of animal fodder to France. Robertson told ministers (30 May, after a 28 May letter from Haig) that "Haig had no idea of any attempt to break through the German lines. It would only be a move to (rescue) the French", although he was probably not aware of Haig's insistence, overruling Rawlinson's earlier plan, on bombarding deeper into the German defences in the hope of breaking through and "fighting the enemy in the open". Robertson was promoted to permanent general on 3 June 1916. At an Anglo-French conference at 10 Downing Street (9 June) Robertson finally succeeded in blocking a major offensive from Salonika. In response to French pleas that such an attack might bring Romania into the war, Lloyd George continued