The former foreign secretary Robin Cook has died after collapsing on a mountain in Scotland, Scottish police have announced.
Mr Cook had apparently collapsed with a suspected heart attack on the mountainside while out walking during his summer holidays.
He was also reported to have seriously injured himself in a fall after his collapse.
The father-of-two grown up sons was on the mountain for nearly half an hour before rescue services reached him.
Then, guided by medical experts via telephone, they battled to revive him using cardio pulmonary resuscitation equipment, before he was airlifted by helicopter to hospital in Inverness.
Article continues Mr Cook arrived at hospital at 4pm - some 90 minutes after his collapse and was declared dead five minutes later, said a spokesman for NHS Highland.
But it was more than three hours later before police confirmed his death.
A police spokesman added: "As is normal in such circumstances, a report will be prepared for the Procurator Fiscal."
Mr Cook was a keen hill-walker, who regularly spent his summer holidays with close family and friends enjoying the dramatic mountain scenery of Highland Scotland, rather than going abroad.
A leading figure in the Labour party for decades, Mr Cook was put in the key job of foreign secretary when the party won power in 1997.
He was demoted to the post of leader of the Commons following Labour's second election victory in 2001 and resigned from the cabinet in protest at the Iraq war in 2003.
He then became one of the sharpest critics of the government's foreign policy in Iraq.
Mr Cook's devotion to enhancing the role of parliament as leader of the Commons made him a popular figure among backbench MPs, and his powerful resignation speech on the eve of war won him great respect from opponents of military action.
Deputy prime minister John Prescott tonight led the tributes to Robin Cook.
He said: "This is truly sad and tragic news.
"My thoughts are with Robin's family at this time and I offer them condolences on behalf of the whole government.
"Robin was the greatest parliamentarian of his generation. He also made an enormous contribution to British politics in opposition and in government.
"He will be sorely missed."
Chancellor Gordon Brown said the former foreign secretary would be mourned in every continent around the world.
Mr Brown said: "I admired and valued Robin as a colleague and friend and as one of the greatest parliamentarians of our time."
Jim, Jim, calm yourself .... Blair is no Nazi, he walks perfectly normally for one thing, he also has no real regard for rules. Of course Kelly was on the other hand 'Kellied' / 'Kelled' whatever that may mean ... (I dont think the wikipedia has a definition yet). I mean, you don't need to be Colombo to figure that one out. However, Cook died nicely in a place he enjoyed and that's the end of the matter there is really no reason to suspect anything else. Knocking people off is a very dangerous game to go playing and only worth while when the stakes are sufficiently high, Cook was a nice old geezer showing the labour party to be 'inclusive', 'open' and 'democratic'. Tony is probably finding some other nice old bloke to fill his role in the whole soap opera at this very minute.
Tony Blair (or Bliar as we call him) wanted to be leader of the Labour Party. But he couldn't because John Smith was leader. So he had him killed so he could be leader instead. He didn't kill him himself. He got someone else to do his dirty work because he is clever. But not as clever as me as I have found him out!
It stands to reason.
Tony Blair (Bliar) has also killed lots of other people. He got rid of Clause 4 and was rotten to George Galloway. I will citizens arrest him when I see him.
Think about the Downing Street memo and the place Cook had in the government at that time. Cook obviously knew way more of the whereabouts of Blair regarding the Iraq war than he has ever spoken about. Look at what happened to Greenstock's book. All the stuff he is not allowed to speak about by law. In the case of a future enquiry into the Downing Street memo, Cook would have been heard by a judge without those legal restrictions be put upon him. Don't forget he was Foreign secretary and therefore, at least sometimes, was in the heart of those Iraq matters.
No evidence of any wrongdoing, but the timing of Robin Cook's death is so profoundly convenient for the government it's hard not to be suspicous. Unfortunately the people who do this sort of thing are far too good for there ever to be any evidence, or for it ever to come to light.
Comments
Hide the following 8 comments
sad
06.08.2005 18:41
Well at least the old geezer didn't get Kellied.
tony dont play fair
Who killed Robin Cook, David Kelly....
06.08.2005 18:54
"ooh no, you're mad, he wouldn't do that, he's a white man!!"
jim
It's true
06.08.2005 18:59
Mat Smith and Agencies
Saturday August 6, 2005
The former foreign secretary Robin Cook has died after collapsing on a mountain in Scotland, Scottish police have announced.
Mr Cook had apparently collapsed with a suspected heart attack on the mountainside while out walking during his summer holidays.
He was also reported to have seriously injured himself in a fall after his collapse.
The father-of-two grown up sons was on the mountain for nearly half an hour before rescue services reached him.
Then, guided by medical experts via telephone, they battled to revive him using cardio pulmonary resuscitation equipment, before he was airlifted by helicopter to hospital in Inverness.
Article continues
Mr Cook arrived at hospital at 4pm - some 90 minutes after his collapse and was declared dead five minutes later, said a spokesman for NHS Highland.
But it was more than three hours later before police confirmed his death.
A police spokesman added: "As is normal in such circumstances, a report will be prepared for the Procurator Fiscal."
Mr Cook was a keen hill-walker, who regularly spent his summer holidays with close family and friends enjoying the dramatic mountain scenery of Highland Scotland, rather than going abroad.
A leading figure in the Labour party for decades, Mr Cook was put in the key job of foreign secretary when the party won power in 1997.
He was demoted to the post of leader of the Commons following Labour's second election victory in 2001 and resigned from the cabinet in protest at the Iraq war in 2003.
He then became one of the sharpest critics of the government's foreign policy in Iraq.
Mr Cook's devotion to enhancing the role of parliament as leader of the Commons made him a popular figure among backbench MPs, and his powerful resignation speech on the eve of war won him great respect from opponents of military action.
Deputy prime minister John Prescott tonight led the tributes to Robin Cook.
He said: "This is truly sad and tragic news.
"My thoughts are with Robin's family at this time and I offer them condolences on behalf of the whole government.
"Robin was the greatest parliamentarian of his generation. He also made an enormous contribution to British politics in opposition and in government.
"He will be sorely missed."
Chancellor Gordon Brown said the former foreign secretary would be mourned in every continent around the world.
Mr Brown said: "I admired and valued Robin as a colleague and friend and as one of the greatest parliamentarians of our time."
S. Jones
jim is tryin to fix it
06.08.2005 19:37
rebound
Tony Blair also murdered John Smith
06.08.2005 21:23
It stands to reason.
Tony Blair (Bliar) has also killed lots of other people. He got rid of Clause 4 and was rotten to George Galloway. I will citizens arrest him when I see him.
Zorro
Think about the Downing Street memo
06.08.2005 21:40
Thinking with my own brain
If you're not paranoid, your not paying attention!
06.08.2005 22:11
Mo is ill again and Claire Short, your chances are not looking good, but Gorgeous George better check his brakes.
Schizo-Nutter
Convenient
07.08.2005 03:16
Paul