On 1 December 1956, the British Cabinet holds a meeting at 10 Downing Street. Two subjects on the agenda are oil prices and the aftermath of the Suez Crisis. Following the interruption of oil supplies through the Suez Canal and the Syrian pipeline, the cost of bringing oil to the United Kingdom has risen because of the higher freight charges involved in bringing supplies around the Cape, the rise in tanker rates and the higher prices which have to be paid for abnormal purchases of oil in the Western Hemisphere. The Cabinet agrees on the request made by the oil companies to raise the price of oil products. The Cabinet also discusses the final version of the draft prepared by the French Foreign Minister of an Anglo-French declaration of policy regarding the Suez Canal.