Hoon deserves holiday
I cannot for the life of me understand those people who have criticised our hard-working Defence Secretary, Mr Hoon. For those who don't follow the news, he has been vilified for taking his children on a half-term skiing trip. His opponents claim he should be preparing the troops for the war against terrorism.

In his defence, Hoon said "it was the first time off he had taken, including weekends, since the Christmas recess and added that his children were off school for half-term." (From BBC News)

Hoon's mother-in-law rightly defends her son-in-law in yesterday's Sunday Mirror: "He is in desperate need of a break, yes, my goodness gracious me. He is very tired."

Christmas recess ended on 7 January. Hoon has worked tirelessly for five weeks and he deserves this two-week break for half-term.