 Gibbs then said that Rhodesia wished to have the best possible relations with its neighbours, and startled British observers by saying the government had informed him that it would follow recommendations made by Portugal during recent talks, and would open its own diplomatic mission in the Portuguese capital Lisbon as soon as was practical. Evan Campbell, Rhodesia's High Commissioner in London, asked Whitehall the same day to endorse the appointment of Harry Reedman as Rhodesia's "accredited representative" to Portugal, reasoning that the 1957 act allowing the Federation to do so still covered Rhodesia under the principle of national succession. The 1963 letter of intent from Sandys confirmed this in Rhodesia's eyes. Historian J R T Wood calls this "Rhodesia's first independent and indeed unilateral act — the veritable straw in the wind."
