Yvette Cooper

In January 2025, Cooper and Foreign Secretary David Lammy indicated that they could support China's proposal for a very large embassy at Royal Mint Court if certain conditions were met. The project raised serious concerns about espionage, proximity to sensitive infrastructure, transnational repression and the policing of demonstrations.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

As Home Secretary, Cooper published an article in the Observer on 17 August 2025 defending the proscription of Palestine Action, despite a Crown Prosecution Service warning that public intervention could affect the trial of six activists concerning an intrusion at Elbit Systems. The defence subsequently invoked the article in an application to stay proceedings as an abuse of process.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

During the 2026 war involving the United States, Israel and Iran, Cooper defended Britain's decision not to join the initial offensive strikes, while subsequently authorising the use of RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia for US operations described as specifically defensive against Iranian launch capabilities and deploying British air defence assets.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

After becoming Health Secretary in Andy Burnham's government, Cooper publicly stated that Labour under Keir Starmer had 'not been very good at government'. She explained notably that she had been sidelined during the launch of the 2025 immigration white paper despite extensive Home Office work on it, and criticised a leadership approach which, in her view, demanded solutions without sufficiently examining underlying problems.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

No legal proceedings

Attribution

Personally implicated

Cooper decided to proscribe Palestine Action under counterterrorism legislation, a decision denounced by lawyers, UN experts and civil liberties organisations as disproportionate and potentially criminalising support for a protest movement. The High Court ruled the proscription unlawful in February 2026, but the Court of Appeal overturned that judgement on 15 June 2026.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

As Foreign Secretary, Cooper confirmed to Parliament that the United Kingdom had authorised the United States to use RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia for certain operations described as defensive in the context of the war with Iran. Tehran accused London of becoming a participant in aggression, while the opposition questioned the government about the risk of escalation.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Shared responsibility

Cooper promoted the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, designed to strengthen the Border Security Command, introduce counterterrorism-style powers against people-smuggling networks, tighten certain investigative mechanisms and repeal parts of the Rwanda scheme and the Illegal Migration Act.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

As Home Secretary, Cooper initially favoured a national audit and local inquiries over a new national inquiry. The local approach itself attracted allegations that its scope was being reduced. Following Baroness Casey's audit, which identified serious data deficiencies and recommended a national inquiry, Cooper accepted the recommendation and announced a policy reversal.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

The government announced the closure of the route allowing new care workers to be recruited from abroad, as part of tougher legal immigration policy promoted by Cooper. Social care organisations warned that the measure could worsen labour shortages and recruitment difficulties.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Statistics published in August 2025 showed more than 111,000 asylum claims in the year to June, a record, while more than 32,000 asylum seekers were still accommodated in hotels and small-boat arrivals had risen sharply. These figures fuelled attacks on Cooper's and the government's immigration strategy.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Institutional responsibility

Against a backdrop of demonstrations around the Bell Hotel in Epping, the local council obtained an interim High Court injunction requiring the removal of asylum seekers accommodated there. Cooper's Home Office had intervened late to prevent a decision potentially setting a nationwide precedent.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Institutional responsibility

Cooper claimed that August 2025 had recorded fewer small-boat crossings than any previous August. Full Fact concluded that the statement was false: the number of people was the lowest only since 2021, while the number of boats was the lowest since 2019.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

The United Kingdom officially recognised the State of Palestine in September 2025. Cooper, then Foreign Secretary, defended the decision at the UN as a means of preserving the prospect of a two-state solution. The Conservative opposition instead portrayed it as a decision risking rewarding Hamas after the 7 October attacks.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Shared responsibility

Shortly after taking office at the Home Office, Cooper announced a substantial increase in enforcement and returns, aiming for the highest level of removals since 2018. The plan included the phased reopening of Campsfield House and Haslar and an initial 290 additional places.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

With Conservative Oliver Letwin, Cooper led the cross-party effort to prevent a no-deal Brexit. Her Private Member's Bill obliged the government to submit a proposed Article 50 extension request to Parliament and received Royal Assent on 8 April 2019 after an exceptionally rapid passage, including stages decided by a majority of just one vote.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Cooper criticised parliamentarians who wanted to prevent Article 50 being triggered despite the referendum result and compared their reasoning with what she saw as Donald Trump's tendency to disregard democratic results he disliked.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Cooper abstained, alongside most Labour MPs, on the second reading of the Conservative Welfare Reform and Work Bill. Jeremy Corbyn was among those voting against it, and the abstention fuelled controversy over Labour's stance on welfare austerity.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

The review conducted by Sir Thomas Legg calculated that Cooper had overclaimed £1,363.21 in mortgage interest for the home shared with Ed Balls. The calculation arose partly from the rule that two MPs sharing the same second home could each claim only their own share of the interest.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Protagonist is the complainant

A parliamentary complaint challenged how Yvette Cooper and Ed Balls had designated their main residence for expenses purposes. The Committee on Standards and Privileges concluded that their decisions were reasonable and rejected the principal allegation. A subsequent review nevertheless identified £1,363.21 in excess mortgage interest claims, which were repaid.

Attribution

Protagonist is the complainant

After becoming Work and Pensions Secretary in June 2009, Cooper took forward the welfare reforms begun under her predecessor. The legislation included increased obligations to seek or prepare for employment, sanctions, 'work for your benefits' trials and an extension of assessment and activation schemes.

State of the evidence

Documented

As Housing Minister, Cooper defended the introduction of Home Information Packs (HIPs). In July 2006, however, the government abandoned the mandatory Home Condition Report, a central component of the scheme, citing risks to consumers, the need for further testing and too few inspectors. In 2007, the launch was delayed again and subsequently phased in.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility