It's a Twitter chain that begins with a Simon Mayo listener, which goes to Simon Mayo to Andrew Rawnsley and then to us, but it's true - page 369 of Rawnsley's book does contain an "eye-opening claim about Geoff Hoon" from Blair's May 2006 reshuffle.
Even more furious was Geoff Hoon, removed as Leader of the House after just a year in the job and deprived of his cabinet rank and salary [...] He was so angry that he wrote out a resignation statement. He planned to make a speech about the [David] Kelly affair that he told friends could trigger the instant downfall of the prime minister.
Why all this Hoon activity now? Well, he's had quite a week: one, footage of him telling an undercover reporter he wanted to turn his "knowledge and contacts about the international scene into something that frankly makes money" (and, my favourite, saying his diary was free in the election month of April); two, getting suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party; three, being asked to leave his post on a Nato advisory panel (leaving more time for what he was shown on Dispatches calling "Hoon work"?)
He gave an interview today to Radio 4 saying he "should have known better." No word yet on what he planned to say about Dr Kelly.
