Pull to refresh
Logo
Daily Brief
Following Why Ranks Sign Up
Yvette Cooper

Yvette Cooper

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom

Appears in 4 stories

Born: 1969 (age 56 years), Inverness, Scotland, United Kingdom
Previous offices: Secretary of State for the Home Department (2024–2025), Shadow Home Secretary of the United Kingdom (2021–2024), Shadow Home Secretary of the United Kingdom (2011–2015), and more
Education: Harvard University, Eggar's School, Alton College, and more
Spouse: Ed Balls (m. 1998)
Children: Ellie Cooper and Joe Balls

Notable Quotes

Russia saw Navalny as a threat. By using this form of poison the Russian state demonstrated the despicable tools it has at its disposal and the overwhelming fear it has of political opposition. — Yvette Cooper, February 14, 2026

Only the Russian government had the means, the motive, and the opportunity to use that toxin against Alexei Navalny in prison. — Yvette Cooper, February 14, 2026

The disgraceful attack on Brize Norton was the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action. — Written statement to Parliament, June 2025

Stories

European nations confirm Russia's assassination of Alexei Navalny

Force in Play

Led joint announcement attributing Navalny's death to Russia

Alexei Navalny survived one poisoning attempt with a military-grade nerve agent in August 2020. He did not survive the second. On the two-year anniversary of his death in an Arctic prison, five European nations announced laboratory confirmation that Russian authorities killed him with epibatidine, a toxin from South American poison dart frogs.

Updated 4 hours ago

UK courts test boundaries of terrorism law against protest groups

Rule Changes

Decision to proscribe ruled unlawful by High Court

On February 13, 2026, Britain's High Court ruled the government acted illegally when it banned Palestine Action as a terrorist organization—the first to overturn a UK terrorism proscription. The three-judge panel said the group's tactics of breaking into factories and damaging military aircraft were criminal but did not meet the terrorism threshold, calling into question more than 2,700 arrests and 250 charges under the Terrorism Act.

Updated 6 hours ago

Trump's board of peace: a $1 billion seat at a new world order

Rule Changes

Declined UK participation in Board of Peace

The United Nations has been the primary venue for international conflict resolution since 1945. On January 22, 2026, President Trump launched an alternative: the Board of Peace, a body he chairs for life where permanent membership costs $1 billion and he holds sole veto power.

Updated 7 days ago

Britain targets Syria’s post-Assad killers with sanctions—while the West quietly reopens for business

Rule Changes

Announced the Dec 19, 2025 Syria-related sanctions package

Britain just named names in Syria's ugliest post-Assad story: who helped kill civilians, and who paid for the machinery of abuse. The UK's new package freezes assets, bans travel, and blocks them from UK business.

Updated May 15