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It viewed the sacking as ‘a fresh blow to British prestige in the Middle East’. The

newspaper added that British aid and loans to Jordan since 1946 totalled

£75,000,000, running at £9,200,000 annually. 495 For his services, HM Queen

Elizabeth II knighted Glubb on 9 March. 496

As events in Jordan were taking shape Lloyd was in Egypt on 1 March, on a

short stop en route to Karachi. The Foreign Secretary was due to meet the Egyptian

Prime Minister at a dinner at the Tahera Palace. During the meeting, according to

Lloyd, the Baghdad Pact was discussed. Nasser required assurances from Britain

that it would not expand the Pact by enlisting new Arab States. This, he said, would

improve Anglo-Egyptian ties and he agreed in return to halt Egyptian propaganda

aimed at British interests in the Middle East. 497 The news of Glubb’s dismissal

arrived during the meeting but Lloyd was not informed about this until after its

conclusion. The following day the Foreign Secretary met again with Nasser, the

latter congratulated him on the news of Glubb’s dismissal as he saw it as a move

done to improve British relations with Egypt. 498 In Heikal’s account, Lloyd’s face

during the second meeting with Nasser turned red when the Egyptian Prime

Minister asked if Glubb’s exoneration was a good decision. Heikal further asserted

that Nasser had only known of the news at around 9.00 am on 2 March when British

journalist Tom Little covering the Foreign Secretary’s visit informed Heikal of the

news and in turn Heikal informed Nasser, just before his second meeting with

495 B. Welles, ‘Ousting of Glubb Affronts Britain: Lack of Notice Held Rude’, New York Times, 3 March
1956, 2.
496 ‘Glubb Knighted by Queen Elizabeth’, New York Times, 10 March 1956, 3.
497 BDEEP, Series B, Part III, vol. 4, ‘Egypt and the Defence of the Middle East’ 1953-1956. Doc. 632:
FO 371/121243, [Alpha and the Baghdad Pact]: inward telegram no 413 from Mr Selwyn Lloyd
(Cairo) to Mr Eden reporting on a meeting with Colonel Nasser, 2 March 1956.
498 Lloyd, Suez 1956, 44-47.

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