§ 46. Mr. du Cannasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether bearing in mind the dependence of our economy upon the free flow of oil from the Middle East and that unemployment and hardship will fall heavily upon the people if the Suez Canal remains blocked for more than a short period, Her Majesty's Government will make official 46W representations to the United Nations Organisation and the Egyptian Government that they reserve the right to clear the Suez Canal throughout its length of obstructions and thereafter to ensure free navigation to the ships of all nations by whatsoever means they may deem necessary, in default of the United Nations Organisation so acting with despatch and efficiency.
§ Commander NobleThe reopening of the Suez Canal to traffic is of course a major preoccupation of Her Majesty's Government; and we are doing all we can to this end. Work on the sector of the Canal which we control is already actively in hand. This is fortunately a matter in which the United Nations is also showing an encouraging desire to push ahead, since traffic through the Canal is of vital interest to so many of its members. Her Majesty's Government consider that co-operation with the United Nations will prove in practice the most effective means of clearing the Canal, and we have therefore offered to put our salvage resources at its disposal.