Bank of England's Mark Carney in a proud Canuck tradition

'Rock star banker' isn't the first Canadian recruit to come to Britain's aid in difficult times

Crispin Black

THE idea of Canada's 'rock star banker', Mark Carney, coming to the aid of the Bank of England in its hour of difficulty would seem uncontroversial, natural even, to the war generation on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Canadians were with us right from the start and in our darkest hour, declaring war against Germany just a week after we did. In September 1939, after the King had signed the official document at Windsor, the Canadian official historian wrote: "King George VI of England did not ask us to declare war for him – we asked King George VI of Canada to declare war for us."

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is a former Welsh Guards lieutenant colonel and intelligence analyst for the British government's Joint Intelligence Committee. His book, 7-7: What Went Wrong, was one of the first to be published after the London bombings in July 2005.