ABSTRACT
Eden was the last prime minister to believe that Britain was an independent world power, and he will always be associated with the Suez crisis, which proved that it was not. He resigned from Neville Chamberlain's government in 1938 over the latter's interference: in Eden's conduct of Anglo-Italian relations, and subsequently acquired a reputation as an opponent of the policy of 'appeasement'. Eden also suffered from frustration in his last period as Foreign Secretary, in that, as Churchill's heir apparent, he was anxious that the ageing prime minister should make way for him, but Churchill engaged in prolonged prevarication before retiring in April 1955. Despite public statements that Nasser had acted illegally, it was admitted within the British cabinet that the legal case against him was weak, and there was no suggestion that the company, which was registered as Egyptian and which was subject to Egyptian law, should simply be restored to private ownership.
