Letter from Denis Devlin to Seán Nunan (Dublin)
(268/53/1521A)
'Egypt's Plan for the Suez Canal'

The new Egyptian Ambassador to the Quirinal, Ahmed M. Farrag Tayeh,¹ called on me during the week. He was formerly Foreign Minister under the Neguib Regime and took part in the clean up of the Wafd and Farouk Administrations which, from what he told me, seems to have been very thorough, as well as necessary.

To my enquiries about the Egyptian-British dispute over the Suez Canal Zone, the Ambassador replied, in substance, as follows:-

Egypt is sure to win in this dispute. Not by force – they realise they are militarily too weak – but by making the administration of the Canal Zone impossible for the British. The Zone employs 80,000 workers; these are Egyptian and will be withdrawn. The British will then have to recruit other foreigners but the latter will be refused all facilities by Egypt, in the way of visas and work permits; their entry will be regarded as illegal, will be opposed and will have to be effected by the British by force. Housing accommodation will have to be built, for which Egypt will supply no materials whatsoever. This will involve a massive import of materials. Can the British do it? They will further have to organise the regular import of food supplies for this huge colony, for Egypt will supply none. These movements of men, food and materials will be constantly harassed by the guerrilla activities which the Egyptians will set up. Workers who go outside the Zone will be imprisoned and punished as spies. With these measures, the Egyptians are confident that they can bring the administration of the Zone to a standstill.

On the other hand, mob violence in Cairo and Alexandria will not be tolerated and British life and property will be scrupulously protected.