| Popis: |
This article provides new information and analysis on a hidden aspect of the Suez crisis. It argues that key members of the Conservative backbench faction, the Suez Group – Julian Amery and Neil McLean – occupied a special place in the covert British moves to remove Gamal Abdul Nasser from power in 1956. Both MPs also sought to shape the climate of political debate in the crucial period prior to Nasser's decision to nationalise the Suez Canal Company and during the ensuing Suez crisis. With the failure of subversive activity in combination with military force to unseat the Egyptian leader by the beginning of November 1956, Amery and McLean sought to limit the prime minister's diplomatic and political options and Cabinet consideration of alternatives. However, their recipe for solving the problem of Nasser's challenge to British interests in the Middle East was ultimately defeated by the political machinations of Amery's own father-in-law and political ally, Harold Macmillan. |
