§ 66. Mr. Hugh Fraserasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he has studied the official assurances given to the Evacuation Committee sitting in Her Majesty's Consulate at Port Said on 1st December, 1956, regarding the rates of exchange for currencies other than sterling, taken out by British subjects evacuated from Port Said; and what steps he proposes to take to comply with the assurances given, as set out in paragraph 10 of the Warning Administrative Order, Evacuation, issued by the committee, a copy of which has been sent to him.
§ Mr. Ian HarveyNo assurance was given to the Evacuation Committee by Her Majesty's Consulate regarding rates of exchange for any currencies. Her Majesty's Consul informed the Evacuation Committee and other inquirers that only £10 per person in sterling notes could be brought into the United Kingdom, but that he had no information about rates of exchange for other currencies. Moreover, British subjects taking Egyptian currency out of Port Said were informed in writing by Her Majesty's Consulate that Her Majesty's Government were not committed to accept such Egyptian currency or to give sterling currency in exchange for it.
Her Majesty's Consulate thus did everything possible to make it clear to evacuees that Her Majesty's Government had no responsibility for exchanging their foreign currencies.