Hoon set for September 11 talks with Rumsfeld

British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon is to visit the United States for a six-day trip surrounding the first anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks, it was confirmed tonight.

Mr Hoon’s visit will include talks on that date with US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Although Mr Rumsfeld is regarded as the chief “hawk” in the US administration pushing the case for military action to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from power, the Ministry of Defence in London said only that the two men would discuss “matters of mutual interest”.

The visit will also include a speech by Mr Hoon at Louisville University.

The Observer suggested that Mr Hoon and accompanying MoD officials would be given detailed briefings by their American counterparts on the options for military action against Saddam, and in return detail what British assistance could be available for a military operation.

The newspaper claimed Mr Hoon would make a number of hardline comments about the need for Saddam to be tackled.

But an MoD spokeswoman said final details of the trip had yet to be finalised, adding that she could not speculate about what issues would be on the agenda during Mr Hoon’s engagements.

Closer liaison with the Bush administration over the Iraqi issue, however, would clearly be welcomed in Downing Street.

Earlier this week Richard Holbrooke, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, revealed that last month a senior adviser to Mr Blair told him that Washington “was giving Blair nothing” despite the Prime Minister’s unstinting support for President Bush over Iraq.

Mr Holbrooke argued that President Bush had to do much more to explain to Mr Blair his policy towards Iraqi leader Saddam.