The news struck me like a thunderbolt, and it was a dark day in my life. The efforts I had spent many long years making for independence seemed to crumble and collapse before my eyes. Sudqi's Statement I discussed the matter with my men, and we accepted all possibilities. We resolved to exert every effort and sacrifice everything we possessed to resist this unjust agreement. I went out to deliver what Sudqi had said upon his arrival in Cairo from London, where he told his people: "I have brought you sovereignty over Sudan." As soon as I read this ominous statement, I realized the news was true, and I decided to travel to Cairo and London immediately.

I contacted the office of the Administrative Secretary and spoke with Mr. James Robertson, who was then the Administrative Secretary of the Sudan Government. I asked him about the truth of the matter and conveyed to him what the newspapers had reported from Sudqi. He told me, "This news is not official, but it appears that the Governor-General of Sudan has been ordered to implement what has been agreed upon." He (Robertson) did not know the details of what had been agreed upon. The Governor-General, Sir Hubert Huddleston, was in London at that time.

Robertson told me that the Governor-General was on his way back to Khartoum to implement the orders issued to him.

Robertson spoke to me about my desire to travel to England and Egypt. I said, "I only want him to endorse my passport and let me go." He wondered how I could travel when the Governor-General had not yet arrived. I told him that was none of his concern.

Telegram to London I was aware that some British officials in the Sudan Government did not care about protocol as long as it did not affect their work in Sudan or endanger their interests. When Mr. Robertson heard this from me, he promised to help me by informing me of the full details of the matter and promised to endorse my passport, which enabled me to send a telegram to London and another to Cairo, announcing my intention to travel to discuss the Sudan issue with the officials. Robertson told me that he would ask the Governor-General to meet me in Cairo and present me with the details of what had been agreed upon, God willing.

In my telegram to Sudqi and Attlee, I had requested them to arrange a meeting for me to discuss the matter. I received a reply from Mr. Attlee, the Prime Minister of Britain, welcoming my arrival and expressing his readiness to meet me.

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