§ 26. Lieut.-Colonel Liptonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs when Article 8 of the 1954 Agreement with Egypt confirming freedom of navigation of the Suez Canal will be put into effect.
§ Mr. Dodds-ParkerI have nothing to add to the replies given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State in reply to Questions on this subject on 7th May.
§ Lieut.-Colonel LiptonHas the hon. Gentleman in the meantime looked at Article 8 of the Agreement in which both England and Egypt express their determination to uphold the 1888 Convention guaranteeing freedom of navigation of the Canal? Is this article worth the paper on which it has been written? Has there been the slightest bleat of protest on the part of Her Majesty's Government as a result of Egypt's complete disregard of this article?
§ Mr. Dodds-ParkerThe 1954 Agreement is between Her Majesty's Government and the Egyptian Government, but the obligation which it confers is an 1640 international one. The responsibility for maintaining it does not rest on the British Government alone.