§ 68. Mr. Healeyasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to what extent it is his policy that oil companies, in which a majority of shares are owned by Her Majesty's Government, should not operate in Israel.
§ Mr. Selwyn LloydIt is not Government policy to restrict the operations of British oil companies in any country. It is, however, Government policy, since it acquired in 1914 the majority shareholding in the then Anglo-Persian Oil Company, not to interfere with the commercial decisions of that company. I should add that Her Majesty's Government had no prior knowledge whatever of the recent decision announced by the Shell Oil Company to seek to dispose of their marketing interests in Israel, which they own jointly with British Petroleum.