I STUMBLED across Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon in Westminster Tube Station on Monday night. He had just completed Defence questions in the Commons and was standing by the ticket barrier with an aide.

However he wasn't holding his Ministerial red box and was wearing a hat, which made him look like an ordinary member of the public.

As I was approaching, a tourist came through the ticket barrier and stopped the first person she spotted to ask for directions.

Quite by chance, that person happened to be Mr Hoon. Amazingly, the woman asked: "Excuse me, but can you tell me the way to Millbank?"

Mr Hoon's face was a picture and many seconds elapsed before he gave an answer. Eventually, a smile breaking out across his face, he pointed up the steps, past the House of Commons and towards the Labour Party s infamous nerve centre.

As I boarded the Tube home, I set about thinking why Mr Hoon had taken so long to answer.

After all, he must have been to Millbank hundreds of times and could probably walk there in his sleep.

At first, I thought he may have been concerned the woman was mocking him.

The inference could easily have been: "Do you know the way to Millbank? Of course you do. You lot are obsessed with spin."

But she genuinely did not appear to know who he was, so I decided that theory was unlikely.

Then another thought dawned on me. Mr Hoon had only just left the Despatch Box and had not had time to return to the normal world. He was still struggling to give a simple answer.

To put it more bluntly, he was still in Son of Star Wars "I do not know anything mode".

During Defence questions, he had faced a predictable onslaught on whether the Government was planning to back the US's multi-billion pound proposals for missile defence and allow President Bush the use of RAF Fylingdales and Menwith Hill.

At the time there had appeared a reasonable chance of an answer - given a secret Ministry of Defence document leaked to the Evening Press had already declared NMD a damn fine idea. (In case memories need refreshing, it read: "We agree with the US that a comprehensive strategy to tackle all these threats is needed.")

But the man famously compared to Geoffrey Boycott had not changed his stance.

Without pausing for breath, he rolled out: "We recognise the role that missile defence systems can play as one element of a comprehensive strategy to tackle the potential threat posed by weapons of mass destruction... but it remains the case that we have received no requests from the US for the use of facilities in the UK for missile defence as part of its plans."

Even the questioner, Hertford and Stortford MP Mark Prisk, realised that was probably all he was going to get. "I am grateful for the Secretary of State for that somewhat familiar answer," he said.

Later in the session, Father of the House Tam Dalyell asked for a reassurance that - in the event Fylingdales and Menwith Hill are used - Mr Hoon will get proper planning permission for the upgrade work.

Mr Hoon replied that he had done for work carried out in the past - but then he hinted he had the power to by-pass local planning rules if he wanted.

It had been another non-answer.

As I reached home, my mind wandered back to the tourist. She had been lucky. Unlike the rest of us, she at least got a full answer in the end.

Updated: 11:08 Friday, May 03, 2002