The British Government considers the Egyptian reply to its protest against the shelling of the British freighter Anshum in the Strait of Akabas July 2 “unsatisfactory”, R.H. Turton, Parliamentry Secratary for Foreign Affairs, said today in a written reply to a query from an MP on the Anshun incident.
The Egyptian note is “at variance with the facts” about the case, Mr. Turton wrote and as soon as the case is studied further the government will make new representations to Egypt. Mr. Turton wrote that the Egyptian account denied statements of the captain of the British ship, accusing the master of having failed to answer Egyptian signals to identify himself and his destination. Nowhere in the Egyptian note, Mr. Turton said, is there an admission that the vessel was hit by Egyptian shore batteries. In seeking to justify the shelling, he added, Egypt claimed the right to visit and search all ships passing through its territorial waters. The note repudiated all liability.
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