Hoon Dropped From NATO Panel After Scandal

From CNN: NATO has dropped former British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon from a panel of policy experts after his involvement in a cash-for-lobbying scandal, a NATO spokesman said Thursday.

Hoon and other members of the British Parliament were secretly filmed in a TV documentary offering to sell their government influence. The documentary, which aired Monday, prompted the Labour Party to suspend Hoon and three other members shown in the program and launch an investigation.

Hoon, who was defense secretary during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, was filmed offering to work for thousands of pounds (dollars) a day in an advisory role for a ficticious company set up by the documentary makers. He offered to lead delegations to see certain ministers or to write letters to ministers to persuade them to see a client.

"One of the challenges, I think, which I’m really looking forward to is sort of translating my knowledge and contacts about (the) international scene into something that, bluntly, makes money," Hoon said in the documentary.  (photo:  AFP/Getty)

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