View source for Robin Cook

{{Short description|British politician (1946–2005)}}
{{Other people}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name                = Robin Cook
| image               = Robin Cook official portrait.jpg
| caption             = Official portrait, 2000
| office              = President of the [[Party of European Socialists]]
| term_start          = 11 June 2001
| term_end            = 24 July 2004
| predecessor         = [[Rudolf Scharping]]
| successor           = [[Poul Nyrup Rasmussen]]
| office1             = {{ubl|[[Leader of the House of Commons]]|[[Lord President of the Council]]}}
| primeminister1      = [[Tony Blair]]
| term_start1         = 8 June 2001
| term_end1           = 17 March 2003
| predecessor1        = [[Margaret Beckett]]
| successor1          = [[John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan|John Reid]]
| office2             = [[Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)|Foreign Secretary]]
| primeminister2      = [[Tony Blair]]
| term_start2         = 2 May 1997
| term_end2           = 8 June 2001
| predecessor2        = [[Malcolm Rifkind]]
| successor2          = [[Jack Straw]]
{{collapsed infobox section begin|Shadow Cabinet posts
 |titlestyle=border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office              = [[Shadow Foreign Secretary]]
| leader              = [[Tony Blair]]
| term_start          = 20 October 1994
| term_end            = 2 May 1997
| predecessor         = [[Jack Cunningham]]
| successor           = [[John Major]]
| office1             = [[Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry]]
| leader1             = {{ubl|[[John Smith (Labour Party leader)|John Smith]]|[[Margaret Beckett]]}}
| term_start1         = 18 July 1992
| term_end1           = 20 October 1994
| predecessor1        = [[Gordon Brown]]
| successor1          = [[Jack Cunningham]]
| office2             = [[Shadow Secretary of State for Health]]{{efn|Health and Social Services from 13 July 1987 to 2 November 1989. He was succeeded in the social security brief by [[Michael Meacher]].}}
| leader2             = [[Neil Kinnock]]
| term_start2         = 2 November 1989
| term_end2           = 18 July 1992
| predecessor2        = [[Michael Meacher]]
| successor2          = [[David Blunkett]]
{{collapsed infobox section end}}
}}
{{collapsed infobox section begin|last=yes|Parliamentary offices
| cont=yes |titlestyle=border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| parliament          = United Kingdom
| constituency_MP     = [[Livingston (UK Parliament constituency)|Livingston]]
| term_start          = 9 June 1983
| term_end            = 6 August 2005
| predecessor         = ''Constituency established''
| successor           = [[Jim Devine]]
| constituency_MP1    = [[Edinburgh Central (UK Parliament constituency)|Edinburgh Central]]
| term_start1         = 28 February 1974
| term_end1           = 13 May 1983
| predecessor1        = [[Tom Oswald]]
| successor1          = [[Alexander Fletcher (British politician)|Alexander Fletcher]]
{{collapsed infobox section end}}
}}
| birth_name          = Robert Finlayson Cook
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1946|2|28|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Bellshill]], Scotland
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2005|8|6|1946|2|28|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Inverness]], Scotland
| resting_place       = [[Grange Cemetery]], [[Edinburgh]], Scotland
| party               = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
| spouse              = {{ubl|{{Marriage|Margaret Whitmore|1969|1998|end=divorced}}|{{Marriage|Gaynor Regan<br>|1998}}}}
| children            = 2
| alma_mater          = [[University of Edinburgh]]
| signature           = Nice Treaty FA the United Kingdom.png
| module              = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Robin Cook voice.ogg|title=Robin Cook's voice|type=speech|description=Cook on Serbian cooperation with the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia|ICTY]] following the [[overthrow of Slobodan Milošević]]<br/>Recorded 9 October 2000}}
}}
'''Robert Finlayson''' "'''Robin'''" '''Cook''' (28 February 1946{{spaced ndash}}6 August 2005) was a British [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] politician who served as a [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) from [[February 1974 United Kingdom general election|1974]] until his death in 2005 and served in [[First Blair ministry|the Cabinet]] as [[Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)|Foreign Secretary]] from [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997]] until [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001]], when he was replaced by [[Jack Straw]]. He then served as [[Leader of the House of Commons]] from 2001 until 2003.

Cook studied at the [[University of Edinburgh]] before being elected as the Member of Parliament for [[Edinburgh Central (UK Parliament constituency)|Edinburgh Central]] in 1974; he switched to the [[Livingston (UK Parliament constituency)|Livingston]] constituency in [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983]]. In [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]], he was known for his debating ability and rapidly rose through the political ranks and ultimately into the Cabinet. As Foreign Secretary, he oversaw British interventions in [[Kosovo]] and [[Sierra Leone]].

Cook resigned from his positions as [[Lord President of the Council]] and Leader of the House of Commons on 17 March 2003 in protest against the [[invasion of Iraq]]. At the time of his death, he was President of the [[Foreign Policy Centre]] and a Vice-President of the [[America All Party Parliamentary Group]] and the Global Security and Non-Proliferation All Party Parliamentary Group.

==Early life==

Robin Cook was born in the [[Bellshill Maternity Hospital|County Hospital, Bellshill]], Scotland,<ref name=bbc>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4127676.stm|title=Obituary: Robin Cook|work=BBC News|date=6 August 2005|access-date=13 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140126020115/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4127676.stm|archive-date=26 January 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> the only son of Peter and Christina Cook (née Lynch) (29 May 1912 – 20 March 2003). His father was a chemistry teacher who grew up in [[Fraserburgh]], and his grandfather was a miner before being [[blacklist]]ed for being involved in a strike.

Cook was educated at [[Aberdeen Grammar School]] and, from 1960, the [[Royal High School, Edinburgh|Royal High School]] in Edinburgh.<ref name=bbc/> At first, Cook intended to become a [[Church of Scotland]] minister, but lost his faith as he discovered politics. He joined the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] in 1965 and became an [[atheist]]. He remained so for the rest of his life.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

He then studied [[English literature]] at the [[University of Edinburgh]], where he obtained a postgraduate [[Master of Arts (Scotland)|MA]] with [[British undergraduate degree classification|Honours]] in [[English Literature]]. He began studying for a PhD on [[Charles Dickens]] and Victorian serial novels, supervised by [[John Sutherland (author)|John Sutherland]], but gave it up in 1970.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

In 1971, after a period working as a secondary school teacher, Cook became a tutor-organiser of the Workers' Educational Association for [[Lothian]],{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} and a local [[councillor]] in Edinburgh.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} He gave up both posts when he was elected as a [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) on his twenty-eighth birthday, in February 1974.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

==Early years in Parliament==

Cook unsuccessfully contested the [[Edinburgh North (UK Parliament constituency)|Edinburgh North]] constituency at the [[1970 United Kingdom general election|1970 general election]], but was elected to the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] at the [[February 1974 United Kingdom general election|February 1974 general election]] as Member of Parliament for [[Edinburgh Central (UK Parliament constituency)|Edinburgh Central]], defeating [[George Foulkes, Baron Foulkes of Cumnock|George Foulkes]] for nomination. In 1981, Cook was a member of the anti-nuclear [[Labour Party Defence Study Group]].<ref name="Vickers2011b">{{cite book|author=Rhiannon Vickers|title=The Labour Party and the World – Volume 2: Labour's Foreign Policy since 1951|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PC_YCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT156|date= 2011|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-1-84779-595-3|page=156}}</ref>

When the constituency boundaries were revised for the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 general election]], he transferred to the new [[Livingston (UK Parliament constituency)|Livingston]] constituency after [[Tony Benn]] declined to run for the seat. Cook represented Livingston until his death. In parliament, Cook joined the left-wing [[Tribune (magazine)|Tribune Group]] of the [[Parliamentary Labour Party]] and frequently opposed the policies of the Wilson and Callaghan governments. He was an early supporter of constitutional and [[electoral reform]] (he opposed [[devolution]] in the 1979 referendum but came out in favour on election night in 1983) and of efforts to increase the number of female MPs.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} In May 2005, one month before he died, Cook said: "My nightmare is that we will have been 12 years in office, with the ability to reform the electoral system, and will fail to do so until we are back in opposition, in perhaps a decade of Conservative government, regretting that we left in place the electoral system that allowed Conservative governments on a minority vote."<ref>{{cite web |last=Ward |first=David |date=1 March 2023 |title=Labour, don't repeat your mistakes: promise fairer elections |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/proportional-representation-electoral-reform-labour-tony-blair-john-smith-charter-88/ |access-date=22 August 2023 |website=openDemocracy}}</ref>

Cook supported unilateral [[nuclear disarmament]] and the abandoning of the Labour Party's [[euroscepticism]] of the 1970s and 1980s.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} During his early years in parliament, Cook championed several liberalising social measures, to mixed effect. He repeatedly (and unsuccessfully) introduced a private member's bill on divorce reform in Scotland, but succeeded in July 1980{{snd}}and after three years' trying{{snd}}with an amendment to bring the Scottish law on homosexuality into line with that in England.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} After Labour were defeated at the general election in May 1979, Cook supported [[Michael Foot]]'s leadership bid and joined his campaign committee. When Tony Benn challenged [[Denis Healey]] for the party's deputy leadership in September 1981, Cook supported Healey.<ref name=mw>{{cite news|title=Michael White's politicians of the decade: Robin Cook|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/2009/dec/27/michael-white-politicians-decade-robin-cook|author=Michael White|work=The Guardian|date=26 December 2009|access-date=13 June 2014|archive-date=26 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826125055/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/2009/dec/27/michael-white-politicians-decade-robin-cook|url-status=live|author-link=Michael White (journalist)}}</ref>

==In opposition==

Cook became known as a brilliant parliamentary debater, and rose through the party ranks, becoming a [[frontbench]] spokesman in 1980, and reaching the [[Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom)|Shadow Cabinet]] in June 1983,{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} as spokesperson on European affairs. He was campaign manager for [[Neil Kinnock]]'s successful 1983 bid to become leader of the Labour Party.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} A year later he was made party campaign co-ordinator but in October 1986 Cook was surprisingly voted out of the shadow cabinet. He was re-elected in July 1987 and in October 1988 elected to Labour's National Executive Committee. He was one of the key figures in the modernisation of the Labour Party under Kinnock.<ref name=mw/> He was [[Shadow Health Secretary]] (1987–92) and Shadow Trade Secretary (1992–94), before taking on foreign affairs in 1994, the post he would become most identified with (Shadow Foreign Secretary 1994–97, Foreign Secretary 1997–2001).{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

In 1994, following the death of [[John Smith (Labour Party leader)|John Smith]], he ruled himself out of contention for the Labour leadership, apparently on the grounds that he was "insufficiently attractive" to be an election winner,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/2014/10/pretty-party/|title=Pretty Party – The Spectator|date=1 October 2014|access-date=31 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709075033/https://www.spectator.co.uk/2014/10/pretty-party/|archive-date=9 July 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> although two close family bereavements in the week in which the decision had to be made may have contributed.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}

On 26 February 1996, following the publication of the [[Scott Report]] into the '[[Arms-to-Iraq]]' affair, he made a speech in response to the then [[President of the Board of Trade]] [[Ian Lang]] in which he said: "this is not just a Government which does not know how to accept blame; it is a Government which knows no shame". His parliamentary performance on the occasion of the publication of the five-volume, 2,000-page Scott Report{{snd}}which he claimed he was given just two hours to read before the relevant debate, thus giving him three seconds to read every page{{snd}}was widely praised on both sides of the House as one of the best performances the Commons had seen in years and one of Cook's finest hours. The government won the vote by a majority of one.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=Brian |date=2005-08-08 |title=Robin Cook |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/aug/08/guardianobituaries.labour |access-date=2024-11-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |quote=Probably his greatest Commons triumph was in the 1996 debate on the Scott Report into arms for Iraq. Famously, Cook had only two hours access to the report before delivering the tour de force in which he described the Tory frontbench as "limpets".}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=6 August 2005 |title=Obituary: Robin Cook |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4127676.stm |via=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>

As Joint Chairman (alongside [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]] MP [[Robert Maclennan]]) of the Labour-Liberal Democrat Joint Consultative Committee on Constitutional Reform, Cook brokered the 'Cook-Maclennan Agreement' that laid the basis for the fundamental reshaping of the British constitution outlined in Labour's 1997 general election manifesto. This led to legislation for major reforms including Scottish and Welsh [[devolution]], the [[Human Rights Act 1998|Human Rights Act]] and removing the majority of hereditary peers from the [[House of Lords]].

==In government==

===Foreign Secretary===

[[File:Defense.gov News Photo 971204-D-2987S-004.jpg|thumb|Cook with [[United States Secretary of Defense]] [[William Cohen]] in December 1997]]

With the election of a Labour government led by [[Tony Blair]] at the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 general election]], Cook became Foreign Secretary. He was believed to have coveted the job of [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]], but that job was reportedly promised by Tony Blair to [[Gordon Brown]]. He announced, to much scepticism, his intention to add "an ethical dimension" to foreign policy.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

His term as Foreign Secretary was marked by British interventions in [[Kosovo]] and [[Sierra Leone]]. Both of these were controversial, the former because it was not sanctioned by the [[UN Security Council]], and the latter because of allegations that the British company [[Sandline International]] had supplied arms to supporters of the deposed president in contravention of a United Nations embargo.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/05/98/arms_to_africa_row/95823.stm|title=UK Government faces Sierra Leone grilling|work=BBC News|date=18 May 1998|access-date=13 June 2014|archive-date=26 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826115557/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/05/98/arms_to_africa_row/95823.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Cook was also embarrassed when his apparent offer to mediate in the dispute between India and Pakistan over [[Kashmir]] was rebuffed. The ethical dimension of his policies was subject to inevitable scrutiny, leading to criticism at times.

Cook was responsible for achieving the agreement between the UK and [[Iran]] that ended the Iranian death threat against author [[Salman Rushdie]], allowing both nations to normalize diplomatic relations.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} He is also credited with having helped resolve the eight-year [[impasse]] over the [[Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial]] by getting [[Libya]] to agree to hand over the two accused ([[Megrahi]] and [[Fhimah]]) in 1999, for trial in the Netherlands according to [[Scots law]].{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

In March 1998, a diplomatic rift ensued with Israel when Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] cancelled a dinner with Cook, while Cook was visiting Israel and had demonstrated opposition to the expansion of Israeli settlements.<ref>{{cite news|last=Schmemann|first=Serge|title=Netanyahu Angrily Cancels Dinner With Visiting Briton|date=18 March 1998|access-date=24 June 2009|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/18/world/netanyahu-angrily-cancels-dinner-with-visiting-briton.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|archive-date=1 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110601183631/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/18/world/netanyahu-angrily-cancels-dinner-with-visiting-briton.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Although reported to have had republican sympathies,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1346189/Prescott-and-Beckett-fuel-Labour-split-on-monarchy.html|title=Prescott and Beckett fuel Labour split on monarchy|last=Cracknell |first=David |access-date=25 June 2016 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160920073720/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1346189/Prescott-and-Beckett-fuel-Labour-split-on-monarchy.html|archive-date=20 September 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> he and [[Queen Elizabeth II]] were said to be on good terms due to their mutual interest in horses.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/2012/06/the-turf-all-the-queens-horses/|title=All the Queen's horses {{!}} The Spectator|date=2 June 2012|language=en-US|access-date=25 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812103648/http://www.spectator.co.uk/2012/06/the-turf-all-the-queens-horses/|archive-date=12 August 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Leader of the House of Commons===

Following the [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001 general election]] he was moved, against his wishes, from the Foreign Office to be [[Leader of the House of Commons]]. This was widely seen as a demotion{{snd}}although it is a Cabinet post, it is substantially less prestigious than the Foreign Office{{snd}}and Cook nearly turned it down.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=2001-06-10 |title=Cabinet reshuffling pored over |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1380905.stm |access-date=2024-11-17 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> In the end he accepted, and looking on the bright side welcomed the chance to spend more time on his favourite stage. According to ''[[The Observer]]'', it was Blair's fears over political battles within the Cabinet over Europe, and especially the [[Euro]], which saw him demote the pro-European Cook.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite news|title=The sacrifice: why Robin Cook was fired|date=10 June 2001|access-date=24 June 2009|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/jun/10/uk.news|work=[[The Observer]]|location=London|first=Kamal|last=Ahmed|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070316050002/http://observer.guardian.co.uk/2001review/story/0,1590,617634,00.html|archive-date=16 March 2007|url-status=live}}</ref>

As Leader of the House, he was responsible for reforming the hours and practices of the Commons and for leading the debate on [[reform of the House of Lords]]. He also spoke for the Government during the controversy surrounding the membership of Commons Select Committees which arose in 2001, where Government whips were accused of pushing aside the outspoken committee chairs [[Gwyneth Dunwoody]] and [[Donald Anderson, Baron Anderson of Swansea|Donald Anderson]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/1435189.stm|title=Cook defends committee sackings|work=[[BBC News]]|date=12 July 2001|access-date=13 June 2014|archive-date=13 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140613194833/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/1435189.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> He was President of the [[Party of European Socialists]] from May 2001 to April 2004.

In early 2003, during a television appearance on [[BBC]]'s debating series ''[[Question Time (TV programme)|Question Time]]'', he was inadvertently referred to as "Robin Cock" by [[David Dimbleby]]. Cook responded with good humour with "Yes, David Bumblebee", and Dimbleby apologised twice on air for his slip.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/3623988/Just-answer-the-question.html|title=Just answer the question|first=David|last=Dimbleby|date=14 September 2004|access-date=31 May 2018|work=The Daily Telegraph|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304173008/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/3623988/Just-answer-the-question.html|archive-date=4 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The episode also saw Cook in the uncomfortable position of defending the Government's stance over the impending invasion of Iraq, weeks before his resignation over the issue.

He documented his time as [[Leader of the House of Commons]] in a widely acclaimed memoir ''The Point of Departure'', which discussed in diary form his efforts to reform the [[House of Lords]] and to persuade his ministerial colleagues, including [[Tony Blair]], to distance the Labour Government from the foreign policy of the [[Presidency of George W. Bush|Bush administration]]. The former political editor of ''[[Channel 4 News]]'', [[Elinor Goodman]] called the book 'the best insight yet into the workings of the Blair cabinet', the former editor of ''[[The Observer]]'', [[Will Hutton]], called it "the political book of the year{{snd}}a lucid and compelling insider's account of the two years that define the Blair Prime Ministership".

===Resignation over Iraq war===

In early 2003, he was reported to be one of the cabinet's chief opponents of military action against Iraq, and on 17 March he resigned from the Cabinet. In a statement giving his reasons for resigning, he said, "I can't accept collective responsibility for the decision to commit Britain now to military action in Iraq without international agreement or domestic support." He also praised Blair's "heroic efforts" in pushing for the so-called second resolution regarding the [[Iraq disarmament crisis]], but lamented "The reality is that Britain is being asked to embark on a war without agreement in any of the international bodies of which we are a leading partner{{snd}}not NATO, not the European Union and, now, not the Security Council". Cook's heartfelt resignation speech<ref>[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmhansrd/vo030317/debtext/30317-33.htm#30317-33_spnew0 Cook's resignation speech] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171031194106/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmhansrd/vo030317/debtext/30317-33.htm#30317-33_spnew0 |date=31 October 2017 }} – Hansard.</ref> in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] received an unprecedented standing ovation from some fellow MPs, and was described by the [[BBC]]'s [[Andrew Marr]] as "without doubt one of the most effective, brilliant resignation speeches in modern British politics."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2859431.stm|title=Cook's resignation speech|work=[[BBC News]]|date=18 March 2003|access-date=24 June 2009|archive-date=7 February 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207170048/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2859431.stm}}</ref> Most unusually for the British parliament, Cook's speech was met with growing applause from all sides of the House and from the public gallery. According to ''[[The Economist]]''{{'}}s obituary, that was the first speech ever to receive a standing ovation in the history of the House.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/obituary/2005/08/11/robin-cook|title=Robin Cook: Robert Finlayson (Robin) Cook, politician and parliamentarian, died on August 6th, aged 59|date=11 August 2005|access-date=9 February 2010|newspaper=[[The Economist]]}} {{Subscription required}}</ref>

==Outside the government==

Following his 2003 resignation from the Cabinet, Cook remained an active [[backbench]] Member of Parliament until his death. After leaving the Government, Cook was a leading analyst of the decision to go to war in [[Iraq]], giving evidence to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee which was later relevant during the [[Hutton Inquiry|Hutton]] and [[Butler Review|Butler]] inquiries. He was sceptical of the proposals contained in the Government's [[Higher Education Bill]], and abstained on its [[second reading]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmhansrd/vo040127/debtext/40127-37.htm#40127-37_div38|title=House of Commons Hansard Debates for 27 January 2004 (pt 37)|access-date=24 June 2009|publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom|date=27 January 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061126075548/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmhansrd/vo040127/debtext/40127-37.htm#40127-37_div38|archive-date=26 November 2006|url-status=live}}</ref> He also took strong positions in favour of both the proposed [[European Constitution]],<ref>{{cite web|author=Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster|title=House of Commons Hansard Debates for 9 February 2005 (pt 17)|publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom|date=9 February 2005|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmhansrd/cm050209/debtext/50209-17.htm#50209-17_spnew4|access-date=24 June 2009|archive-date=26 November 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061126075338/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmhansrd/cm050209/debtext/50209-17.htm#50209-17_spnew4|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the [[reform of the House of Lords]] to create a majority-elected second chamber,<ref>{{cite web|title=House of Commons Hansard Debates for 4 February 2003 (pt 8)|publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom|date=4 February 2003|access-date=24 June 2009|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmhansrd/vo030204/debtext/30204-08.htm#30204-08_spmin0|author=Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster|archive-date=26 November 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061126075402/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmhansrd/vo030204/debtext/30204-08.htm#30204-08_spmin0|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster|publisher=Parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk|date=23 February 2005|access-date=24 June 2009|title=House of Commons Hansard Debates for 23 February 2005 (pt 1)|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmhansrd/vo050223/halltext/50223h01.htm|archive-date=3 July 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703114612/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmhansrd/vo050223/halltext/50223h01.htm}}</ref> about which he said (while he was Leader of the Commons), "I do not see how [the [[House of Lords]]] can be a democratic second Chamber if it is also an election-free zone".

In October 2004, Cook hosted an episode of the long-running [[BBC]] panel show ''[[Have I Got News for You]]''.<ref>[[List of Have I Got News for You episodes#Series 30 (2005)]]</ref>

In the years after his exit from the Foreign Office, and particularly following his resignation from the Cabinet, Cook made up with [[Gordon Brown]] after decades of personal animosity<ref>{{cite news|date=8 August 2005|access-date=24 June 2009|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/aug/08/labour.iraq|title=John Kampfner on Robin Cook|work=The Guardian|location=London|archive-date=14 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514055519/http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2005/aug/08/labour.iraq|url-status=live}}</ref> — an unlikely reconciliation after a mediation attempt by [[Frank Dobson]] in the early 1990s had seen Dobson conclude (to [[John Smith (Labour Party leader)|John Smith]]) "You're right. They hate each other." Cook and Brown focused on their common political ground, discussing how to firmly entrench progressive politics after the exit of [[Tony Blair]].<ref>{{cite news|date=8 August 2005|access-date=24 June 2009|author=Steve Richards|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|location=London|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/steve-richards/steve-richards-progressive-causes-everywhere-will-feel-the-loss-of-an-indispensable-politician-304440.html|title=Steve Richards: Progressive causes everywhere will feel the loss of an indispensable politician|archive-date=29 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629055814/http://comment.independent.co.uk/columnists_m_z/steve_richards/article304440.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Chris Smith, Baron Smith of Finsbury|Chris Smith]] said in 2005 that in recent years Cook had been setting out a vision of "libertarian, democratic socialism that was beginning to break the sometimes sterile boundaries of 'old' and 'New' Labour labels".<ref>{{cite news|location=London|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/chris-smith-the-house-of-commons-was-robin-cooks-true-home-8060462.html|title=Chris Smith: The House of Commons was Robin Cook's true home|newspaper=The Independent|date=8 August 2005|access-date=24 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009162523/http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/chris-smith-the-house-of-commons-was-robin-cooks-true-home-8060462.html|archive-date=9 October 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> With Blair's popularity waning, Cook campaigned vigorously in the run-up to the 2005 general election to persuade Labour doubters to remain with the party.

{{Anchor|Al-Quaida}}In a column for the ''Guardian'' four weeks before his death, Cook caused a stir when he described [[Al-Qaeda#Alleged CIA involvement|Al-Qaeda as a product of a western intelligence]]:

{{blockquote|Bin Laden was, though, a product of a monumental miscalculation by Western security agencies. Throughout the 80s he was armed by the [[CIA]] and funded by the Saudis to wage jihad against the [[Russian occupation of Afghanistan]]. [[Al-Qaeda]], literally "the database", was originally the computer file of the thousands of mujahideen who were recruited and trained with help from the CIA to defeat the Russians.<ref name='Guardian'>{{cite news|first=Robin|last=Cook|title=The struggle against terrorism cannot be won by military means|date=8 July 2005|access-date=25 July 2007|url=https://www.theguardian.com/terrorism/story/0,12780,1523838,00.html|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London|archive-date=11 November 2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061111225041/http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,12780,1523838,00.html}}</ref>}}

Some commentators and senior politicians said that Cook seemed destined for a senior Cabinet post under a Brown premiership.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Independent|access-date=24 June 2009|location=London|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article304437.ece|title=Return to Cabinet role for Cook was on the cards|date=8 August 2005|first=Colin|last=Brown|archive-date=2 October 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071002205928/http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article304437.ece}}</ref>

In the [[2005 United Kingdom general election|2005 general election]], his first election as a backbencher in over 20 years, he held his Livingston seat with an increased majority of 13,097, where he remained until his death 3 months later.

==Personal life==

Cook's first wife was Margaret Katherine Whitmore, from [[Somerset]], whom he met at Edinburgh University. They married on 15 September 1969 at St Alban's Church, [[Westbury Park, Bristol]]<ref>Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.</ref> and had two sons.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1495724/Robin-Cook.html|title=Robin Cook|date=8 August 2005|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=7 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160706192826/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1495724/Robin-Cook.html|archive-date=6 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4132814.stm|title=Cook's wife talks of 'great love'|date=8 August 2005|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=7 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070116035601/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4132814.stm|archive-date=16 January 2007|url-status=live}}</ref>

Shortly after he became [[Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)|Foreign Secretary]], Cook ended his relationship with Margaret, revealing that he was having an [[extramarital affair]] with one of his staff, Gaynor Regan. He announced his intentions to leave his wife via a press statement made at [[Heathrow]] on 2 August 1997. Cook was forced into a decision over his private life following a telephone conversation with [[Alastair Campbell]] as he was about to go on holiday with his first wife. Campbell explained that the press was about to break the story of his affair with Regan. His estranged wife subsequently accused him of having had several extramarital affairs and alleged he had a habit of drinking heavily.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/252341.stm|title=Cook 'had six lovers'|date=10 January 1999|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=7 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427100528/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/252341.stm|archive-date=27 April 2006|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1495638/Robin-Cook.html|title=Robin Cook|date=6 August 2005|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=7 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160706191233/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1495638/Robin-Cook.html|archive-date=6 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

Cook married Regan in [[Borough of Tunbridge Wells|Tunbridge Wells]], Kent,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findmypast.com/BirthsMarriagesDeaths.jsp|title=Marriages England and Wales 1984–2005|publisher=Findmypast.com|access-date=24 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627024414/http://www.findmypast.com/BirthsMarriagesDeaths.jsp|archive-date=27 June 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> on 9 April 1998, four weeks after his divorce was finalised.

Introduced to [[United Kingdom horse-racing|horse racing]] by his first wife, Cook was a [[racing tipster]] in his spare time. Between 1991 and 1998 Cook wrote a weekly tipster's column for Glasgow's <!-- "The Herald" from 1992. -->''[[The Herald (Glasgow)|Herald]]'' newspaper,{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} a post in which he was succeeded by [[Alex Salmond]].

==Death==

At the start of August 2005, Cook and his wife, Gaynor, took a two-week holiday in the [[Scottish Highlands]]. At around 2:20&nbsp;pm on 6 August 2005, while he walked down [[Ben Stack]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/07/obituaries/07cook.html|title=Robin Cook, Former British Foreign Secretary, Dies at 59|author=Alan Cowell|date=7 August 2005|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=13 June 2014|archive-date=13 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140613195936/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/07/obituaries/07cook.html?_r=0|url-status=live}}</ref> in [[Sutherland]], Cook suddenly suffered a severe heart attack, collapsed, lost consciousness and fell about {{convert|8|ft}} down a ridge. He was assisted after his fall by another hill-walker who refused all publicity and was granted anonymity. A helicopter containing paramedics arrived 30 minutes after a [[999 call]] was made.  Cook then was flown to [[Raigmore Hospital]], [[Inverness]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/aug/07/uk.labour |title=Robin Cook dies after collapse on mountain | newspaper=The Guardian|date=6 August 2005|access-date=5 April 2024}}</ref>

Gaynor did not get in the helicopter and walked down the mountain. Despite efforts made by the medical team to revive Cook in the helicopter, he was already beyond recovery, and at 4:05 pm, minutes after arrival at the hospital, was pronounced dead. He was 59. Two days later, a [[post-mortem]] examination found that Cook had died of [[hypertensive heart disease]].

A funeral was held on 12 August 2005, at [[St Giles' Cathedral]] in Edinburgh, even though Cook had been an atheist.<ref>{{cite news|date=12 August 2005|access-date=24 June 2009 |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4143846.stm |title=Mourners' funeral tribute to Cook |work=[[BBC News]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207150853/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4143846.stm|archive-date=7 February 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Gordon Brown]] gave the eulogy, and German foreign minister [[Joschka Fischer]] was one of the mourners. [[Tony Blair]], who was on holiday at the time, did not attend.<ref>{{cite web |title=Blair criticised for decision to miss Robin Cook's funeral |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/aug/10/uk.labour |website=The Guardian |date=9 August 2005 |access-date=15 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915192357/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/aug/10/uk.labour |archive-date=15 September 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

A later memorial service at [[St Margaret's, Westminster]], on 5 December 2005, included a reading by Blair and tributes by Brown and [[Madeleine Albright]]. On 29 September 2005, Cook's friend and election agent since 1983, [[Jim Devine]], won the resulting [[by-election]] with a reduced majority.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2005-09-30|title=Labour wins Livingston by-election|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-wins-livingston-by-election-316191.html|access-date=2020-08-08|website=The Independent|language=en}}</ref>

In January 2007, a headstone was erected in the [[The Grange, Edinburgh#Grange Cemetery|Grange Cemetery, Edinburgh]] where Cook is buried, bearing the [[epitaph]]: "I may not have succeeded in halting the war, but I did secure the right of parliament to decide on war." It is a reference to Cook's strong opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the words were reportedly chosen by his widow and two sons from his previous marriage.<ref>{{cite news|location=London|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2007/jan/09/iraq.iraq|title=Cook's opposition to Iraq war set in stone|work=The Guardian|date=9 January 2007|access-date=24 June 2009|archive-date=9 January 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070109191304/http://politics.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,,1986123,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

in April 2022, [[Police Scotland]] were asked by an individual whose name was redacted for seven pieces of unanswered information surrounding Cook's death.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-19 |title=Police told to release more details of Robin Cook's death |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/20077478.police-scotland-told-release-details-robin-cooks-death/ |access-date=2024-02-23 |website=The Herald |language=en}}</ref> The request was initially refused, but the [[Scottish Information Commissioner]] ruled the police had breached the [[Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002]] by doing so.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Horne |first=Marc |date=2024-02-23 |title=Details of Robin Cook's death to be released |newspaper=[[The Times]] |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/details-of-robin-cooks-death-to-be-released-cjp0jdsql |access-date=2024-02-23 |language=en |issn=0140-0460}}</ref> Since this development, controversy has re-emerged around the circumstances of Cook's death.<ref>{{Cite web |title=U.K. secretary who opposed Iraq's invasion..Robin Cook's suspicious death stirs controversy again |url=https://shafaq.com/en/Report/U-K-secretary-who-opposed-Iraq-s-invasion-Robin-Cook-s-suspicious-death-stirs-controversy-again |access-date=2024-02-23 |website=Shafaq News |language=en}}</ref>

== Explanatory notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==

{{wikisource|works=or}}
* [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/politicsobituaries/page/0,1441,1544826,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics &ndash; Special Report: Robin Cook (1946–2005)]
* {{Hansard-contribs|mr-robin-cook|Robin Cook}}
* [https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/robin_cook/livingston TheyWorkForYou.com &ndash; Robin Cook MP]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/indonesia/Story/0,2763,190889,00.html Cook's "ethical foreign policy" speech], 12 May 1997
* [https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmhansrd/vo030317/debtext/30317-33.htm Text of Cook's resignation statement in the House of Commons], 17 March 2003
* [https://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/historic_moments/newsid_8183000/8183766.stm Video of Cook's resignation statement in the House of Commons, on the BBC Democracy Live website], 17 March 2003
* [//www.youtube.com/profile?user=setfree69 The Fruitceller 2 – A huge Video Archive for the Anti-War Movement Contains video of Robin Cooks resignation speech AND the Arms to Iraq Enquiry]
* {{C-SPAN|25833}}

'''Articles'''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140711134119/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/apr/19/race.britishidentity Robin Cook's chicken tikka masala speech], Robin Cook, [[The Guardian]], 19 April 2001.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070521035453/http://www.labour.ie/campaigns/listing/20060727132311.html "Obituary: Remembering Robin Cook One year on"] from [[Labour Party (Ireland)]]
* [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4127676.stm "Obituary: Robin Cook"] from [[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC News]]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/aug/08/guardianobituaries.labour "Obituary: Robin Cook"] from ''The Guardian''
* [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/mar/17/labour.uk Cook resigns from cabinet over Iraq], Matthew Tempest, [[The Guardian]], 17 March 2003
* [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/jun/10/uk.news "The sacrifice"], Kamal Ahmed, ''[[The Observer]]'', 10 June 2001
* [https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jul/08/july7.development "The struggle against terrorism cannot be won by military means"], Robin Cook, ''The Guardian'', 8 July 2005
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151118143226/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/jul/29/labour.politicalcolumnists "Worse than irrelevant"], Robin Cook's last article, ''The Guardian'', 29 July 2005
* [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/story/0,,1837778,00.html From the Lords to Lebanon, Labour misses Robin Cook], David Clark, ''The Guardian'', 5 August 2006.

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