Why Hood's loss could not remain secret

Was Hood's loss at Denmark Strait impossible to conceal from the public?

Yes; once concealment was unrealistic, disclosure was safer than allowing an attempted cover-up to create a second crisis.

German leaders may not have understood how strongly Britain would respond to Hood's destruction. British authorities nevertheless faced a separate information problem because the loss of such a famous ship could not plausibly remain hidden. The policy described here is to protect operational information where possible, then disclose events that cannot be concealed. Attempting to suppress an undeniable disaster would create additional political damage when the truth emerged. Hood's loss therefore illustrates the boundary between useful wartime secrecy and a counterproductive cover-up.