Vereté argues, not very successfully, it should be added, that Palmerston as early as 1832 did have a clear idea about where British interests lay regarding the Turco-Egyptian crisis. He fails to explain, for example, why Palmerston refused the Porte's request for naval assistance. Be that as it may, the important issue is that even if he did have clear ideas about the Levant crisis, his Consul in Egypt did not know what these might have been, and Mehmed Ali was left in the dark regarding possible British moves.

XREF: Connects to earlier claims about Palmerston's silence during the campaign masking later firm policy (loc 182) and Palmerston's anti-Egyptian policy developing later from other causes (loc 254). Here the gap between London policy and local knowledge is the mechanism. Builds on: "Palmerston's anti-Egyptian policy developed only later from other causes."

Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed…, loc. 393