Robin Cook: 1946-2005: 35-MINUTE BATTLE TO SAVE HIM

0 Comments | Sunday Mirror, Aug 7, 2005 | by Reporting team: PIERS EADY, PAUL GILFEATHER, RUPERT HAMER, JON

ROBIN Cook's frantic wife Gaynor watched for 35 agonising minutes as her dying husband was given the kiss of life following his dramatic collapse on a Scottish mountain.

She flagged down a fellow walker who battled in vain to save her husband's life in one of Britain's most remote spots. And in a heartbreaking final twist, when help finally arrived she was too distraught to travel on the rescue helicopter with the ex-Foreign Secretary.

The aircrew asked if she was his next of kin, which would have allowed her on board, but in her confused state she told them that she wasn't... then had to walk back down from the summit of 2,635ft Ben Stack, near Thurso.

Mr Cook, 59, who dramatically resigned from the Cabinet over his opposition to the Iraq War, is believed to have suffered a heart attack while hill-walking with Gaynor, 48, which led him to fall and break his neck. Because neither he nor Gaynor had a mobile phone, she raised the alarm by shouting to a passing group of walkers. One rang 999 on a mobile phone at 2.23pm.

A male hiker gave Mr Cook the kiss of life after taking instructions over the phone from paramedics in Inverness until help arrived.

A Coastguard helicopter from Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, 120 miles away, arrived at the scene 20 minutes later. But the Sikorsky helicopter could not land at the spot 1,500ft up the mountain.

Winchman George Chrossan, a trained paramedic, took the decision to lift Mr Cook - who was unconscious and suffering head injuries - gently aboard using a stretcher.

Distraught Gaynor had to watch as her husband was flown away and she then made her own way down the mountain. She was later escorted by police to their rented holiday home nearby where she was officially told of her husband's death at 4.05pm at Raigmore Hospital, Inverness.

Last night she was waiting with a police officer at her holiday home until friends arrived to join her.

Tom Docherty, an assistant controller at RAF Kinloss, said the centre had first received a phone call about a "collapsed male walker" on the mountain. The male hiker was then told by paramedics how to carry out cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on Mr Cook until help arrived.

A crash team was waiting on the tarmac when the helicopter landed.

Mr Cook was rushed to the hospital's A&E department where a doctor declared him dead - some 90 minutes after he first collapsed. A post-mortem is likely to be carried out tomorrow on Mr Cook, who had suffered from blood pressure problems. In July 2002 while eating out in London's Covent Garden he fainted and was taken to hospital and kept in overnight. Doctors told him the episode had been caused by medication which he took to regulate his blood pressure.

Last night the helicopter pilot Tim Noble revealed how Mrs Cook was in a distressed state as his crew evacuated her unconscious husband.

He said: "Mrs Cook was highly distressed and confused at the time when we asked her if she was his next of kin. She answered 'no'.

"It was only later when we realised who she was. We don't usually carry anyone who wasn't the next of kin. And it was probably better that she didn't accompany her husband."

Last night Mr Cook's ex-wife Margaret paid tribute to her former husband. She said: "It is a tragedy. He always loved the Highlands.

"I used to worry desperately when he was up there but he was an adventurous man who loved to push himself to the limit.

"He was not even 60. I can't believe it... it's absolutely devastating news. I will be speaking to our sons as soon as possible. They will be devastated."

Mr Cook's son Christopher, 32, is a racing journalist and other son Peter, 31, is an electrical engineer. Margaret was last night believed to be on her way to Inverness. Gaynor's mother Joan Wellings said: "It's all so upsetting - I'm still trying to talk to Gaynor and the hospital to find out exactly what happened."

Dr Lesley Anne Smith of Raigmore Hospital said: "Robin Cook was brought by helicopter to Raigmore Hospital. He was examined by A&E and pronounced dead at 4.05pm."

Local police later released a statement saying: "As this would appear to be a medical matter, there is no further police involvement."

Ian Morrison, who manages the Grosvenor Estates on which Ben Stack is situated, said: "We are really off the beaten track - the nearest town is at least 20 miles away."

Conditions on Ben Stack were good at the time Mr Cook fell ill. The mountain sits around 20 miles from Durness in Sutherland and is known as Cape Wrath, the most northerly point on the British mainland.

On his website, Mr Cook describes himself as a keen walker and cyclist.