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Nonetheless, the Foreign Secretary intended to keep the role of the Adviser

but with a different title. Lloyd adopted on 30 May Burrows’ earlier proposal of

promoting Smith, Bahrain’s Director of Customs. Lloyd’s plan was to appoint Smith

as the Director of Finance and, following Belgrave’s departure, he would be granted

greater authority over administrative affairs in Bahrain. On the Arabian Gulf as a

whole, Lloyd further recommended that in the future no British official was to be

placed in influential positions and those that were in place should keep a low

profile. 675

On receiving these recommendations, Burrows immediately met with the

Ruler and suggested Smith for the position of overseeing the financial affairs of the

state. The Ruler objected to the idea as it might displease Sayed Mahmood, a Shi’ite

who ran the Accounts Department, since it would imply that Smith would have a

bigger role than his. The Ruler’s objection was not against having Smith take over

some of Belgrave’s responsibilities as such, but on his suggested title. 676

The BBC's Panorama television programme visited Bahrain on 30 May to

conduct interviews vis-à-vis developments in Bahrain as part of a feature on the

Arab Gulf that included Kuwait. 677 The Panorama ‘Special’ was presented by British

politician and journalist Woodrow Wyatt. Al-Shamlan was featured in the

programme as Wyatt interviewed him with other prominent members of the NUC

surrounded by the new Party’s Acting Secretary. In the interview Al-Shamlan spoke

authoritatively with a good command of the English language. He was highly critical

675 TNA, FO 1016/467, Despatch 600, SOSFA to Residency, 30 May 1956.
676 TNA, FO 1016/467, Burrows to FO, 1 June 1956, 1.
677 Sir Charles Dalrymple Belgrave’s Personal Diaries, 30 May 1956.

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