LONDON, Aug 13: A prominent friend of deceased former British foreign secretary Robin Cook defended his astonishing attack at the funeral on Prime Minister Tony Blair’s non-attendance, a newspaper reported on Saturday.

Horse racing pundit John McCririck, a close friend of racing fan Mr Cook and a well-known face in Britain, stunned mourners by delivering a stinging assault on Mr Blair from the pulpit on Friday.

In front of hundreds of politicians, family and friends, McCririck savaged Blair for remaining on holiday while other government colleagues had altered their plans.

The comments left cabinet ministers seething.

Mr Cook, 59, who quit Mr Blair’s Labour government in March 2003 in protest over the decision to take Britain into the Iraq war without a clear UN mandate, died suddenly last Saturday.

“I believe the prime minister’s snub to Robin’s family and millions of New Labour voters demonstrates a petty vindictiveness and a moral failure, opting to continue snorkelling instead of doing his duty,” McCririck told the stunned-silent congregation, though mourners outside applauded.

Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain called the attack “very out of place. A wave of resentment swept through the cathedral.”

Jack Straw, Mr Cook’s successor as foreign secretary, branded it “inappropriate”.

McCririck later said Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott was “incandescent with rage”.

The outspoken pundit defended his comments at the wake.

“I don’t think there’s anything in it that Robin would not have wanted me to say,” the Daily Mail quoted him as saying.

“You have a duty in these situations. To treat a man of Robin’s stature by saying ‘I’m just going to sit here on the beach’ is a disgrace. I was merely reflecting what New Labour voters and everybody else was thinking.

“Where’s the prime minister? Where is he?

“John Prescott is furious with me and I’m not going anywhere near him because he might punch me. But some of Robin’s family have come and said thank-you.”

Mr Cook collapsed whilst hill walking in the Scottish Highlands. A post portem cited hypertensive heart disease as the cause of death.

Mr Cook was foreign secretary from 1997 to 2001, carving out an “ethical foreign policy” for Britain that included support for NATO’s 1999 intervention in Kosovo.

His resignation speech over Iraq was hailed as one of the finest and most powerful heard in Britain’s parliament in many years. —AFP