Brown to give eulogy at Cook funeral
Chancellor Gordon Brown will give the eulogy at the funeral of Robin Cook, while Tony Blair will stay on holiday and not attend.
The prime minister said he did not want to disrupt the funeral with the high security arrangements that would be necessary had he decided to attend.
The political relationship between Mr Brown and the former foreign secretary had been a stormy one, but they had overcome those differences in recent years.
It was widely believed that Mr Cook would return to front bench politics in the event of a Brown premiership.
Mr Cook died on Saturday at the age of 59 while on a hill-walking holiday in Scotland.
The funeral will be held Edinburgh on Friday at St Giles cathedral. Deputy prime minister John Prescott will attend, and Jack Straw and David Blunkett are also expected to be there.
