Tony Blair - Robin Cook: Truth is, he loved Gaynor

Published on Wednesday 1 September 2010 18:31

TONY Blair claimed he ordered former foreign secretary Robin Cook to choose between his wife and his mistress after news of his affair broke in 1997.

The Livingston MP left his wife Margaret after a tabloid expos revealed he had been conducting a long affair with his assistant, Gaynor Regan. He announced his separation via a press statement made from Heathrow Airport, and Mr Blair detailed the hours before that decision in which it was decided that Mr Cook's hand would be forced in order to minimise the political damage of the scandal.

Mr Blair said he had been "relatively insouciant" about the story until his former spin doctor, Alastair Campbell, persuaded him the tabloid scrutiny could last for weeks unless a decision was made.

He said: "Maybe I was wrong and maybe you think I was interfering unreasonably, but I couldn't see an answer to the basic problem: now we know about the affair, does it continue or does it stop?

"Although it felt ugly, we had to be clear with Robin. You must speak to Margaret. You must choose. I know Margaret was very sore afterwards and felt Alastair and I had pushed Robin to leave her, but … the truth is he loved Gaynor and she was devoted to him."