WHEN Mark Thatcher was at Harrow, he was captain of rackets and took a team to Rugby. Let us call the opposing captain “Smith”. On arrival, the young Mark introduced himself. “Thatcher,” — portentous pause — “Son of Margaret.” Young Smith was underawed. “Smith,” he replied: “Son of Deirdre.”

There are many such stories about Sir Mark and they are an accurate guide to his character. Even so there is an unpleasant tone to some of the mockery to which he has been subjected. Now that his mother is a lioness in winter, petty creatures who would never have dared to assail her in her prime are trying to avenge themselves through her son.

That said, where Sir Mark is concerned, no degree of mockery is excessive. Anyone who regarded him as a reliable associate in a dangerous plot would seem to have good grounds for a plea of insanity.

Yet there is only one correct response to the attempt to overthrow the Government of Equatorial Guinea: regret that it failed. In a continent full of corruption, oppression, extortion, rapine and murder, where resources are wantonly misused, and populations are abominably mistreated, the regime of President Obiang stands out. He may well be worse than Mugabe, who at least has never been accused of cannibalism.

If Obiang is a cannibal, it is not his worst offence. There is, as yet, no word for eating a country, but that is what he is doing. Perhaps the practice should now be referred to as Obianging. That would be a worthy memorial to his rule.

In recent years there has been a new twist to the tragedy. Oil has been discovered in Equatorial Guinea. A small country, this could make it a rich one. But Obiang is more likely to eat his people than enrich them.

Yet if Sir Mark and his friends had succeeded, there might have been hope. It is unlikely that the international community would have stood by while South African mercenaries overthrew an African government. There would probably have been intervention, which could have meant salvation for the people of that benighted country. Even if — only possible, surely, in the pages of Evelyn Waugh — Sir Mark and his associates had ended up running Equatorial Guinea, they would have been an infinite improvement on the present regime.

Mark Thatcher is not the man to overthrow governments. But what a pity he did not succeed.