[Mb-civic] CBC News - U.K.'S ROBIN COOK DIES

Sat Aug 6 16:48:53 PDT 2005

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U.K.'S ROBIN COOK DIES
WebPosted Sat Aug  6 15:30:47 2005

---Former British foreign secretary Robin Cook, a fierce critic of his
government's decision to support the war in Iraq, has died. He was 59.

Police said Cook died Saturday at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness after
collapsing on a mountain in the Scottish Highlands.

He had been walking with his wife Gaynor near the summit of Ben Stack
when he suffered a heart attack, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported.
Cook was then airlifted off the mountain.

Cook, who had been a Labour Party member of parliament since 1983,
resigned from the British cabinet in 2003 in opposition to the Iraq war.

 FROM MARCH 17, 2005: British cabinet minister quits over Iraq FROM MARCH
 17, 2005: Revolt in Blair's cabinet widens Last month, in response to
 the London transit attacks, Cook warned that the invasion of Iraq
 "boosted terrorism" around the world. He told the BBC that Britain had
 handed al-Qaeda an "immense propaganda gift, one that they exploit
 ruthlessly."

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, filling in for a vacationing Blair,
said Cook was "the greatest parliamentarian of his generation."

"He also made an enormous contribution to British politics in opposition
and in government," Prescott said.