M A I N   N E W S

Robin Cook quits

London, March 17
Mr Robin Cook, the British government’s highly respected leader in Parliament and former Foreign Secretary, today resigned in protest at Prime Minister Tony Blair’s hawkish stance on Iraq.

“Robin Cook met the Prime Minister before Cabinet and has resigned from the government,’’ a Downing Street spokesman said. He is expected to make a personal statement to the House of Commons later on Monday, the spokesman added. @@Mr Cook was the first Cabinet casualty of Blair’s unpopular Iraq policy, which has set the centrist Labour leader against his party in the biggest crisis of his premiership. Mr Cook, who has said he would not support war without United Nations backing, resigned ahead of an emergency Cabinet meeting . Reuters