British Armor Policy

[Hawk Kriegsman]

The Infantry tanks were meant just for supporting infantry assaults whilst the Cruiser class were never meant to engage enemy infantry so there was no need for HE shells.

... from Wikipedia

The infantry tank was a concept developed by the British in the years leading up to World War II. They were generally more heavily armoured compared to the lighter cruiser tanks, which would allow them to operate in close concert with infantry to help them break through heavily defended areas in the enemy lines. Once they had opened a gap, the cruisers were expected to exploit their higher speed and longer range to range far behind the front in order to cut lines of supply and communications. In more conventional terminology, the infantry tank was essentially a heavy tank, while the cruisers were either mediums, lights, or even armoured cars.

Yes, but the infantry tanks still had no HE capability.
That is the OP's original question.
So while the Matilda II was an infantry tank it had no capacity to take on infantry! Same for the Valentine I - VII, Only the Churchill I (having a 3 inch in the hull) had HE capability

Prior to 1942 the Brits had very little HE capability in their armor cruiser or infanty.

Thanx!

Hawk