§ 7. Mr. Wallasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a further statement about discussions with the United Arab Republic Government about the property of the 48 British nationals resequestrated in October 1961.
§ Mr. MathewDiscussions have continued, but the United Arab Republic authorities have still not clarified their intentions towards either the release of the property or the payment of compensation. There has however been a disturbing development in the publication of a new Decree Law which appears to provide for the ownership of the property of natural persons sequestrated under Proclamations numbers 138 and 140 of 1961 to devolve upon the State, and for compensation to be paid in State bonds, up to a limit of 30,000 Egyptian pounds. On 2nd May, Her Majesty's Embassy in Cairo entered a reservation of all rights in this matter, whilst seeking further clarification as to whether the Decree was to be applied to British subjects.
The latest estimate of the number of the British subjects affected by Proclamation 138 is 135.