§ Mr. Buckasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the progress of the work of the Royal Navy force which is assisting in the clearance of the Suez Canal; and if he will set out the terms of the agreement with the Egyptian Government setting out the means by which the cost of the operation is to be met.
§ Mr. JuddFollowing the completion of the United States Navy's helicopter mine-countermeasures operation in the last week of May, the Royal Navy Task Force moved from Port Said to Ismailia. Our mine hunters and the divers of the Fleet Clearance Diving Team, with Egyptian and United States Navy diving teams, are currently involved in removing ordnance from just north of the Great Bitter Lake. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs is arranging to place a copy of the Arrangement concluded with 269W the Egyptian Government in the Library as soon as possible.