Geoff Hoon asked to relinquish Nato role

Former defence secretary Geoff Hoon was dropped from a Nato committee following his involvement in the lobbygate row, it emerged.

Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen asked Mr Hoon to step down from a group of 12 policy experts after learning of his suspension from the Parliamentary Labour Party.

The committee, headed by former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, was drafting Nato's new mission statement.

A Nato spokesman said: "It was the British government that nominated Mr Hoon to be one of the group of 12 experts and he has served there with distinction.

"However, given that it is clear the British government no longer supports Mr Hoon's participation, the secretary-general has decided to ask Mr Hoon to end his participation in the group of 12."

Mr Hoon is one of three former Cabinet ministers to have had the Labour whip removed pending a full investigation into claims they were prepared to take cash to influence government policy.

Mr Hoon, Stephen Byers and Patricia Hewitt were secretly filmed by an undercover reporter for Channel 4's Dispatches discussing the possibility of working for what they thought was an American lobby firm.

Labour backbencher Margaret Moran, who also featured in the programme, was also suspended.