2 SEPTEMBER 2000, Page 30

Comrade Governor

MY revelatory discovery that Che Guevara was Governor of the Central Bank of Cuba has been confirmed. 'I have long enjoyed the fact that Che was a fellow-member of the central banking fraternity', writes Sir Kit McMahon, who was Deputy Governor of the Bank of England. 'Seated round the camp-fire in the mountains, with Havana about to capitulate before them, Castro and his colleagues were sorting out portfolios. At the end the Leader remembered that they hadn't filled the post of governor of the central bank, and asked the group: "Is anyone here an economist?" Che thought he said "Communist", put up his hand and got the job.' In the fraternity, Sir Kit and I have seen worse appointments.