§ Mr. Wallasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent Anglo-Egyptian exchange of notes on the use of blocked bank accounts.
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeThe Exchange of Notes which was signed in Cairo on 15th March provides for the British Embassy at Cairo to acquire any British non-resident bank account—that is, capital account—held by a bank in Egypt. These accounts may then be used for the payment of local expenses incurred by the embassy, within a limit of £E300,000 per annum, up to a total of £E1,500,000. Owners of such accounts are being invited to ask the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for details of the action which they must take if they wish to benefit from the distribution of corresponding sums in sterling.