HC Deb 11 February 1957 vol 564 cc908-9
17. Captain Pilkington

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs when the Suez Canal Users' Association is to meet again.

Mr. Selwyn Lloyd

No date for the next Council meeting of the Suez Canal Users' Association has been fixed, but the Council met twice last month and the Executive Group holds regular consultations.

Captain Pilkington

Can my right hon. and learned Friend say whether the United States are behind this Association, and whether he thinks there are any prospects of it being able to do anything at all?

Mr. Lloyd

The United States is still a member of this Association. I think it is obvious that the users of the Canal must have some collective rôle to play. That is, I think, as far as I can go today.

28. Mr. Emrys Hughes

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many meetings of the Suez Canal Users' Association have been held; and what is the total expenditure he has incurred up to date in connection with its establishment and operation.

Mr. Selwyn Lloyd

The Council of the Association has met four times. The Executive Group meets frequently. For the second part of the Question, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. and gallant Member for Arundel and Shoreham (Captain Kerby) on 25th January.

Mr. Hughes

Does the Minister recall that on the last occasion I asked a Question on this matter he reminded me that it was Mr. Dulles who started the Suez Canal Users' Association? Could he tell us if at any of these meetings the Canal Users' Association was informed by representatives of Her Majesty's Government that the Government intended to take military action which would make the Canal unusable? Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman say if at the next meeting he will apologise to Mr. Dulles for making the Canal unusable and so blocking international trade?

Mr. Lloyd

I think the answer to both parts of that supplementary question is, No, Sir.

Mr. Younger

May I ask the Foreign Secretary whether the Canal Users' Association is considered to have any role in the negotiations about the future of the Canal'? Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that it causes some confusion that there always seems to be a reference to negotiations between Britain, France and Egypt and that this seems to be altogether too narrow a basis on which to negotiate the future of the Canal? Has not the Canal Users' Association a part in that?

Mr. Lloyd

The present position is that the Secretary-General has been charged with the task of setting these negotiations on foot again. I am inclined to agree with the right hon. Gentleman that it would be wiser to have a broader basis for the negotiations. Precisely how the Users' Association should be associated with those, I am not prepared to state today.