Robin Cook tells the Spectator magazine that Alastair Campbell was not partly responsible for the end of his marriage.

According to the Westminster rumour mill, the prime minister's communications chief rang the then foreign secretary on his mobile telephone to say the News of the World was about to break the story of his affair with his diary secretary, Gaynor Regan.

Campbell was said to have advised Cook that in the interests of "clarity in news management" he should make a decision about the future of his relationship.

However, in the interview published yesterday, the former minister dismissed the idea that Campbell wrecked his marriage.

"Alastair called me at the airport, but it's quite wrong that he told me I had to choose between my wife and Gaynor. That was my decision. I chose Gaynor," Cook said.

"The idea that Alastair bullied me into a decision is, I'm afraid, one of the legends of our time."