Editing Robin Cook (section)

===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=http://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>