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prepared a speech for the Commons which was to be ‘regarded as one of the worst’

of his career, as he later confessed. Eden was ‘well lectured in the House of

Commons’ by critics. 543 The efficiency of the Baghdad Pact was also debated and in

that context Nutting argued that the Soviet menace in the Middle East was

‘calculated and carefully planned’ and that the Pact was ‘proving an effective

instrument for the defence of the Middle East’. As for the Gulf region, Nutting

promised to take all necessary steps to maintain Britain’s position and friendship

with the rulers of Arab Gulf States. In relation to Bahrain, Lieutenant-Colonel Neil

McLean, said in the House of Commons that he saw Glubb’s dismissal to have ‘been

underlined by events that followed in the Bahrein area which we thought we had

under complete control’. 544

Brigadier Terence Clarke proposed that Britain should send more ships to

the Gulf to ensure the protection of sheikhdoms there and the flow of oil. 545 Even

Hugh Gaitskell, the leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party, believed that the

country should maintain its position in the Middle East in light of recent

developments. He highlighted the importance of oil in sustaining Britain, expressed

his fear that the Middle East would be overtaken by the Soviets, and criticised the

Government for failing to recognise the growth of Arab nationalism. 546

Humphrey Mynors, the Bank of England’s Deputy Governor, sent a letter to

Shuckburgh on 8 March in which he warned him of conditions in Bahrain. He

passed information from a British banker he knew in Jordan who believed that

543 Eden, Full Circle, 352-53.
544 House of Commons (HC) Deb 7 March 1956, vol 549, cols 2111-238.
545 HC Deb 8 March 1956, vol 549, cols 2378-476.
546 ‘We Must Guard the Oil Says Gaitskell’, Daily Express, 8 March 1956, 2.

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