Oral Answers to Questions — Egypt – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 17 February 1954.
Mr George Jeger
, Goole
12:00,
17 February 1954
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs on what date the supply of arms to Egypt was suspended; how this was made public; and what reasons and conditions were given to the Egyptian Government.
Mr Selwyn Lloyd
, Wirral
The supply of arms to Egypt was suspended when the Egyptian Government passed legislation purporting to abrogate the 1936 Treaty. An announcement was published in the Board of Trade Journal of 27th October, 1951. The reasons for this action were self-evident and no conditions were attached to it. Since the announcement, no arms have been supplied to Egypt except four Meteor aircraft early last year.
Mr George Jeger
, Goole
Is the Minister prepared to take exactly the same action with regard to Spain?
Mr Selwyn Lloyd
, Wirral
That is an entirely different matter.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
