§ 64. Sir Geoffrey Johnson Smithasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, in the light of the refusal of the Egyptian courts to recognise Mr. 772W Douglas Forsyth's claim to possession of his villa in Cairo, sequestrated by the Egyptian Government following the Suez crisis in 1956, and the failure of Her Majesty's Government's efforts to protect his interests, Her Majesty's Government will now consider making an ex gratia payment to compensate him for his loss of possession and enjoyment of the villa; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. EggarNo. The question of an ex gratia payment has been considered in the past and was discussed when I met my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Sir G. Johnson Smith) and Mr. Forsyth on 26 November 1986. The position remains that Her Majesty's Government do not accept that they have in any way failed to protect Mr. Forsyth's interests nor that there is a case for the payment of compensation.
Her Majesty's ambassador at Cairo and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have been very active on Mr. Forsyth's behalf in the past and will continue to afford him every assistance in the future. It is understood that the occupancy of the villa is still the subject of legal action before the Egyptian courts.