Suez Crisis Peacekeepers to police the Egyptian–Israeli border, British Prime Minister Anthony Eden resigned, Canadian Minister of External Affairs Lester Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize, and the USSR may have been emboldened to invade Hungary. The Suez Canal was opened in 1869, after ten years of work financed by the French and Egyptian governments. The canal was operated by the Universal Company of the Suez Maritime Canal, an Egyptian-chartered company; the area surrounding the canal remained sovereign Egyptian territory and the only land-bridge between Africa and Asia. The canal instantly became strategically important, as it provided the shortest ocean link between
The Key (Yes, Prime Minister) restricted. During the Second Wilson Ministry, on occasions then Cabinet Secretary Sir John Hunt (whose tenure in office was an inspiration for the character of Sir Humphrey Appleby) was periodically refused immediate access to Downing Street by the Prime Minister's adviser Bernard Donoughue, who relished taunting Hunt, who was one of the more powerful cabinet secretaries, with this ability to refuse access. The Key (Yes, Prime Minister) “The Key” is the fourth episode of the BBC comedy series "Yes, Prime Minister" and was first broadcast 30 January 1986. Jim Hacker is in the Cabinet Room in 10 Downing Street and