The truth about Campbell and me

Kimberly Fortier talks to Robin Cook about war and peace – and that day at Heathrow

Don’t you just love the two Robin Cooks? There’s the philandering habitué of the turf, the one who runs off with his secretary; and then there’s the conscientious objector to war, the one who sacrifices power for principle. These two Robin Cooks invite two distinct lines of questioning. The first is far more fun.

‘Tell me, Mr Cook,’ I say, bounding into his office. ‘Did you sex up your own dossier by inserting a new wife at the last minute?’

Actually I don’t, because I am a coward.

Instead Robin takes control. ‘Let me explain the rules of the game,’ he says. ‘My objective here is to get through this interview without saying anything that will end up in the headlines of the newspapers tomorrow morning.’

I am seated in Robin Cook’s new office, which is in the annex to the annex to Parliament.