28 OCTOBER 1989, Page 25

Yes and no

THE• Bank of England, required to admi- nister exchange control, took a libertarian stance from the start. H. A. Siepmann, head of the improvised department, put up a Home Guard poster. It read: 'Freedom is in peril, defend it with your might.' Many years later a merchant banking friend of mine sent a draft application in to the department, which replied helpfully, tell- ing him how the draft could be improved and find favour — just insert, into every sentence, the word 'not'.