SOMETHING surprising happened this week. I found myself feeling sorry for Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon.

His refusal to come clean over whether the Government will support George W. Bush in his infatuation with Son Of Star Wars has been driving me crazy for more than a year now.

As a result, I have taken great pleasure from watching MPs mock and taunt "Buff-hoon" with comparisons to ultra-defensive cricketer Geoffrey Boycott, for example.

There have even been times when I have been tempted to abandon 200 years of Parliamentary protocol and yell out from the Press Gallery: "For God's sake, just answer the question."

The most annoying thing about Mr Hoon had been the look on his face as he batted the questions away.

Somehow, he had managed to look as though the Government really couldn't say whether the US would want to use RAF Fylingales and Menwith Hill for missile defence - even though we all know it does.

On Monday, however, that look was gone. Instead, he looked embarrassed.

The breakthrough came in yet another exchange between Mr Hoon and leftwing Labour Mps at Defence questions. (Defence questions without Son Of Star Wars would be like Morecambe without Wise.)

Veteran Labour MP Malcolm Savidge urged Mr Hoon to deny the US access to North Yorkshire's radar bases.

The Ministry of Defence's own intelligence had concluded the threat of a missile attack against Britain or her allies was "remote". The real danger, he said, came from weapons of mass destruction being smuggled into the country.

The MP - who includes heraldry in his list of hobbies - added: "Does the Secretary of State agree it would be wise to base British defence policy on military intelligence, on intelligence in a broader sense and on British interests and not on a desire to appease the obsessions of the US Republican hawks?"

I - along with Mr Savidge - braced myself for the standard indignant response from Mr Hoon.

But he instead said: "If my honourable friend was referring, as I think he was, to the prospect of the UK becoming involved in missile defence, I am sure he knows my answer better than I do."

At last! He had finally grown tired of saying the same thing over and over again.

He did go on to repeat his usual line - "We have not been asked to participate in any such system, and unless and until we are, our position remains that we will wait and see what the US decides on."

But he had finally shown his hand. He is ready to get things out in the open - if only Downing Street will let him.

It is about time too. The demise of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty means that - for the first time in decades - the US is actually free to spend billions on a system capable of shooting weapons out of the sky.

Former Foreign Office Minister Tony Lloyd has already warned ditching the treaty - a decision taken unilaterally by the US - could spark a new arms race.

Nuclear war had been avoided because of an understanding that it would be without any one winner, he said.

But missile defence changes this position and could lead to countries such as China buying more weapons. It will also make Fylingdales and Menwith Hill targets for the US's enemies.

So, come on Prime Minister. Let's free Mr Hoon from his embarrassment, admit the US do want to use our bases and have a very public debate about whether this is the right thing to do.

Updated: 11:00 Friday, June 21, 2002