It has emerged that former foreign secretary Robin Cook is being deployed to win back disillusioned Muslim voters to Labour.

Cook, who resigned from the Cabinet over the war in Iraq, is being called upon to speak in Mosques in a bid to avoid a massive loss of previously safe votes at the next general election.

Several MPs who are suffering because of their stance on the war have asked him to campaign in their constituency.

Because of his perceived credibility in Muslim communities, Cook has already addressed audiences in Mosques in Luton, Gloucester, Rochdale and the by-election battleground of Birmingham Hodge Hill.

In the recent Leicester South contest Cook spoke three times in Mosques, but to no avail.

He told the Guardian that he wanted to convince fellow sceptics on Iraq that the government still deserves a third term.

"I have done many of these meetings over the past nine months. For reasons which will be familiar, I am a welcome guest in the Muslim community. [But] there is a job to be done. That is very obviously why I am working at it," he said.

Cook added that Muslims should try and look beyond foreign policy as the only basis on which to vote.

"There is a general recognition that we have pursued polices that have been fair to the ethnic [minority] communities," he said.

"For instance, the stress in the Muslim community on the family relationship goes well with the very strong investment we're making in the provision for children.

"The big investment in education is very strong because Muslims are immensely committed to making sure their children get a proper education. On those issues, there is no difficulty in getting a response."

Mistrust

But he also acknowledged the scale of mistrust now surrounding the government.

"Of course, there is dismay, not just among Muslim communities, of the prime minister's decision to take us to war on Iraq," he said.

"The great tragedy for Tony Blair on Iraq is that it has become the defining issue of the parliament."

Muslim Council of Britain spokesman Inayat Bunglawala said it was wise for Labour to use the Livingston MP in this way.

"The Muslim community have a lot of time for Robin Cook," he said.

"The speech he made when he resigned touched a lot of chords and articulated many of the feelings many Muslims had about the lack of any substance to the government's case for war."

But he warned that it would take more than a friendly face to change many Muslims minds.

"The Labour Party has seen substantial support haemorrhage. It will have to have a sea change in its attitude towards the way it... has allied itself with a US agenda in the Muslim world," he said.

"Until there is some serious evidence of Britain adopting a more independent foreign policy, I do not see the Labour party regaining a lot of the support it has lost."