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eee te ee gay 7” 1469 - ork rovers “ 7 NOVEMBER £955 |’ : Ora: rswers ~ 1490.05 0 Light Railways Limited, the assets of which have been seized by the Egyptian Government and put up for auction. on Belgian initiative. is interesting itself, in this maticr? Is he further aware that unless the O.E.E.C. produces some result . 4, fairly soon the Council of Europe will Mr. Turton: Since my noble Friend's f reply on 30th March, the Egyptian Gov- ernment have twice put the assets of the company and the concession to adjudi- cation in accordance with the Concession Deed and Schedule of Conditions. There blessing of my right hon. Fricnd—to refer - _ this matter to the peaceful settlement of disputes procedure, which the Council of —- - - Europe is at the moment erecting? =| were no tenders, and it is understood that the assets of the company have be- come the property of the Egyptian Gov- eroment. Meanwhile, the company’s plea Mr. Turton: On the first point, the Icelandic Government have recently issued a further memorandum to the Council of Europe, and that is now being t } inevuably propose—I hope with the j " H i | that it was force majeure that prevented jt from running its services efficiently and economically is still before the Egyptian Government. The hearing of the deben- ture holders’ law suits has been postponed until 6th January. studied. On the work of the O.E.E.C., the next meeting of the group has been pro- visionally fixed for 28th November: ~ i De. King: Js the right hon. Gentleman } aware that it is a tragedy that two free ~ 7° and very friendly nations cannot settle this-- 2 _ E Mr. Braine: Is my right hon. Friend dificulty between them? Will he not ack - - aware that I was told in January that Her the British fishing industry to make a ges- Majesty’s Ambassador ture towards peace by dropping the an in Cairo was ¥ on Scelandic fish? - making strong representations to the Egvptian Government on this subject and that the matter then was sub judice and that the Egyptian authorities were making some inquiries? Is my right hon. Friend aware that I was told the same thing in March? Does his reply now mean that the British asscts have been scized by the Egyptian Government and that there is no question of compensation being paid? If that is so, will further representations be made and at the same time some action Mr. Turton: I agree it is a tragedy that this dispute should have occurred, but I hope very much that the work being done by the group of O.E.E.C. will have satis- factory results, 2 )- 25 - . FORMER FOREIGN OFFICE - OFFICIALS (DISAPPEARANCE) * 17 and 18. Lieut.-Colonel Cordeaux asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1} why the secret and widespread inquiries begun by the security authorities in January, 1949, as stated in Command - Paper No. 9577 of September, 1955, in-' ~ cluded no inquiry into the background of - Mr. Donald Maclean before he joined the’ Foreign Service in 19353 0.724 ICELANDIC FISHERIES - + - (2) how many Forcign Service officers" DISPUTE ........-.-. having access to highly secret information, ~~ have been discharged from the service or removed from their posts as a result of | |. the security checks on all such persons — recommended in the report of the come . 2 -: 7” mittee of inquiry in November, 1951, and “~*~ put into effect in 1952. . 23. Dame Irene Ward asked the Secro- ~~" ~ tary of State for Foreiga Affairs, in view | ne. of the fact that Guy Burgess’s Communist * 26°: =. Jeanings were common knowledge during’ 7). his career prior to his applying for entry to the Foreign Service, why his Depart- ment was unaware of this informations. and what steps he has taken to satisfy ~- ~~ taken? . | _ Mr. Turton: In the case of the deben- tute holders, the matter is before the Egyptian courts and is, therefore, su judice. It would be quite impossible to interfere while the matter is sub judice. hn ern feign eg ha. . ere or eee. ae ee a a, ar7*. . _ - . = - Soto hae Bre ee: 16. Wing Commander Bullus asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what progress has been made to end the three- ears-old dispute of this country with celand over the fishing industry. Feros eae tm - Mr. Turton: I regret that I cannot yet announce any substantial progress. The special Group of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation, which is considering the dispute, is not yet ready « Mr. Fletcher-Cooke: Is my right bon. Friend aware that the Council of Europe, uC 1 *. soowore ’ wemee = we at ae . -. 7 soos wee eee eG Fe eR ER, vee