Foreign secretary Yvette Cooper: ‘Making decisions based on what the US do or say doesn’t feel like sensible foreign policy’

<p>Firing Peter Mandelson, convening with Marco Rubio – then handling the fallout of conflict in the Middle East… it’s been a busy time for the secretary of state, and our writer has had a ringside seat</p><p>Before Yvette Cooper joins me in a plush side room at the Foreign Office, an aide comes in and draws the heavy curtains. Outside is Horse Guards Parade. I&nbsp;can see a strip of Downing Street, a patch of the No 10 garden, daffodils in bloom. I say that it’s a shame to block the light on such a beautiful spring afternoon. The aide coughs, embarrassed, and explains that it’s actually for security.</p><p>So that people can’t see in?</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/mar/14/yvette-cooper-uk-foreign-secretary-iran-us-war">Continue reading...</a>