Robin Cook, Ex-UK Minister Who Quit Over Iraq, Dies

MORE: ROBIN COOK >>

Robin Cook, Ex-U.K. Minister Who Quit Over Iraq, Dies (Update4)

Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Robin Cook, the former U.K. foreign secretary who resigned from Prime Minister Tony Blair's government over the 2003 invasion of Iraq, died after he collapsed while hill-walking in his native Scotland. He was 59.

Cook was flown by coast guard helicopter to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, where he was pronounced dead, Sergeant Hamish Grace of Scotland's Northern Constabulary said. Cook, who lived in Edinburgh, had been walking with his wife Gaynor near the summit of Ben Stack mountain in western Scotland. He suffered a heart attack, the British Broadcasting Corp. said.

Cook, who served as foreign secretary under Blair from 1997 to 2001, resigned from Blair's cabinet in March 2003, saying he couldn't support the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq without the agreement of the United Nations. The next day, he led a third of Blair's Labour Party in voting against the war.

Blair, in a statement issued by his Downing Street office, called Cook ``an outstanding, extraordinary talent.''

``Though we disagreed over Iraq, I always respected the way in which he put his case. His contribution to the politics of Britain was hugely significant, his contribution to the Labour Party was immense,'' Blair said.

Current Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who succeeded Cook, said in a statement, ``He was the greatest parliamentarian of his generation and a very fine foreign secretary.''

``He was a man of fearsome intellect who didn't suffer fools gladly,'' John Kampfner, author of the 1999 biography ``Robin Cook,'' told the BBC.

`Ethical Foreign Policy'

As foreign secretary in Blair's first term, from 1997- 2001, Cook announced that Britain would have an ``ethical foreign policy,'' and he was instrumental in military interventions in Kosovo and Sierra Leone.

Cook was a Labour spokesman for 23 of his 31 years as a lawmaker. He was acknowledged to be a brilliant debater and an accomplished raconteur. He made his first public speech when he was 11. He also was a man whose looks -- short with a reddish- brown beard -- frequently led to him being drawn as a garden gnome by cartoonists. His Scottish accent was target for satirists.

Cook was reported to have believed his appearance ruled him out of being prime minister, commenting that voters were unlikely to choose one of Snow White's Seven Dwarves.

In the summer of 1997, shortly after Blair's first landmark victory, the tabloid newspaper News of the World discovered Cook was having an affair with his secretary and was prepared to report it.

Two Women

Cook was in a VIP lounge at Heathrow Airport about to go on a vacation to the U.S. with his wife, Margaret, when he received a call from Blair's press secretary, Alastair Campbell. He told Cook that he had to choose between the two women.

Cook told his wife about the call and his decision: he would end his 28-year marriage to her for Gaynor Regan. He married Regan in a low-key wedding in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, in April 1998.

In 1999, Margaret Cook published a book, ``A Slight and Delicate Creature,'' alleging that Cook had had six affairs in the course of their marriage.

Unwillingly demoted to leader of the House of Commons in 2001, he introduced family friendly hours for lawmakers, ending late sittings for debates.

Quit Cabinet

On March 17, 2003, just days before the invasion of Iraq to depose Saddam Hussein, Cook said he was leaving Blair's cabinet ``with a heavy heart.'' His speech that evening to the House of Commons was greeted with applause from lawmakers, against parliamentary convention.

``Ironically, it is only because Iraq's military forces are so weak that we can even contemplate its invasion,'' he told them. ``We cannot base our military strategy on the assumption that Saddam is weak and at the same time justify pre- emptive action on the claim that he is a threat.''

It was a speech ``full of wisdom, passion and great prescience,'' former Culture Secretary Chris Smith, who sat next to Cook while he was making it, told the BBC. ``He foretold virtually everything that has happened since.''

While he disagreed with Blair, Cook remained loyal to the Labour Party following his resignation from the cabinet. He toured British mosques in the run-up to the May 2005 election to urge Muslims to vote Labour in spite of their objection to the Iraq war.

Three Hours

One of his finest moments came while he was still in opposition, with the 1996 publication of a report by Judge Richard Scott into the Conservative government's sale of arms to Iraq during the 1980s. It was 2,000 pages long and weighed 17 pounds.

While government ministers had eight days before its publication to prepare their response, they allowed Cook, as opposition spokesman, three hours to read it before he had to address parliament on its contents. In the ensuing debate, the Guardian newspaper reported, he marked himself out as a future Labour party leader.

``He managed to digest this gargantuan report and turned it into a weapon with which he mercilessly beat the government,'' George Galloway, a former Labour lawmaker who quit the party following the Iraq war, told the BBC today.

Born Robert Finlayson Cook in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, on Feb. 28, 1946, he studied English Literature at Edinburgh University before becoming a lecturer. He was elected to parliament for Edinburgh Central in 1974, on his 28th birthday, switching districts to nearby Livingston in 1983.

Horses

A horse-racing enthusiast, Cook wrote regularly on the subject in Scottish newspapers. After he resigned from Blair's cabinet, he also wrote for several newspapers on political issues. Following Blair's victory in this year's general election, Cook wrote that Blair should set an early date for his departure.

Cook was an avid hill walker and cyclist. The 721-meter (2,365-foot) Ben Stack mountain where he collapsed is popular with hill-walkers.

In addition to his wife, Cook is survived by two sons from his first marriage.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Robert Hutton in London on rhutton1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 6, 2005 17:28 EDT
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000085&sid=an0L7RY27myA&refer=europe

Commons ovation for Robin Cook as he quits cabinet and rounds on Blair and United States
March 18 2003: Robin Cook last night let rip months of frustration with Tony Blair's Iraq policy when he used his cabinet resignation speech to warn colleagues that "history will be astonished at the diplomatic miscalculations" which now look certain to bring war in a matter of days.
Robin Cook: Why I had to leave the cabinet
Special report: politics and Iraq

============

Doctor who exposed Blair found murdered
The Death of Dr. David Kelly
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/dkelly.htm

George Galloway vs. The US Senate
movie clip & transcript
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/Galloway.htm

Robin Cook dies aged 59 —Gardian UK, Sat Aug 6 20:44