Cameron drops the Hoon bomb in PMQs

With a little help from the Daily Telegraph, David Cameron staged an ambush for Gordon Brown at PMQs today – the letter to Keith Vaz from Geoff Hoon promising he will be “rewarded” for supporting the government. It went up on the Telegraph website just before midday, and either David Cameron’s Blackberry is working with efficient speed or he had advance notice. Certainly more notice than Brown who was stuffed. Poor Hoon tried to look composed, knowing the television cameras would be turning to him. But his face went beetroot red, as Cameron read out his letter to Vaz. “I wanted you to know how much I appreciated all your help … I trust that it will be appropriately rewarded!” It was a gotcha moment.

As Brown was saying Mr Vaz supported the legislation because he believed to be right, a strange moment then set in. It looked as if Brown was looking for an intervention from the backbenches, which of course you can’t do at PMQs.