Hoon to stand down from parliament
Thursday, 11 February 2010 4:56 PM
By politics.co.uk staff
Geoff Hoon will stand down from parliament at the next election, he has announced.
The move is unlikely to surprise parliamentarians after he all but crippled his political career with a weak coup attempt against Gordon Brown.
Working with former health secretary Patricia Hewitt, Mr Hoon called for a secret ballot on the leadership.
Coming minutes after a strong performance from the prime minister at PMQs, the coup attempt gained little support and Mr Hoon was subject to abuse from passing Labour MPs as he tried to justify himself in parliament.
In contrast to the coup attempt, his resignation came quietly, through a letter sent while he was away in Russia.
"Despite my involvement in difficult and sometimes controversial questions I have received consistent support from the people of Ashfield," he wrote.
"They have recognised that it is necessary to take difficult decisions, that newspapers do not always report fairly or accurately and that I always tried to take decisions in the best interests of the country.
"I joined the Labour party because I believed in equality, in freedom of speech and in tolerance, compassion and understanding for people, irrespective of their background and views. In whatever I decide to do in the future I will hold to those principles."
A former defence secretary during the Iraq war, Mr Hoon was a visible government figure during Tony Blair's time in power, although his appearance at the Iraq inquiry seemed to suggest he had been kept out the loop during some pivotal planning sessions for the invasion.
Mr Hoon has been the MP for Ashfield since 1992.
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