The court case has been seen as an embarrassment to Mr Cook, who promised an "ethical foreign policy" when he took over in May 1997.

BBC: Evicted islanders' legal challenge begins

And what about the so-called ethical foreign policy?

BBC: News | UK Politics | Charles Kennedy's speech in full

But nobody, the government now says, thought to mention Sandline's activities, or the investigation, to a foreign secretary known throughout his department for having put control of arms sales at the centre of his newly ethical foreign policy.

ECONOMIST: Ethics man

Yugoslavia is a different sort of war, one much more in accord with New Labour's claim to be prosecuting a more ethical sort of foreign policy.

ECONOMIST: Boxing for Britain

Christians are at the forefront of attempts to make American foreign policy more ethical.

ECONOMIST: Foreign policy

"Robin Cook has made the establishment of the International Criminal Court a cornerstone of his foreign policy with an ethical dimension, " he said.

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