Cohen left the George Gascoigne Secondary Modern school (closed in 1966) on Queens Road in Walthamstow at 15, and trained as a public service accountant at the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, as well as studying part-time at East Ham Technical College (now Newham College of Further Education).
On 31 October 2006, Cohen was one of 12 Labour MPs to back Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party's call for an inquiry into the Iraq War.
Cohen responded to criticism by stating that the Additional Costs Allowance was intended to be de facto salary for Members of Parliament.
[8] The report did recognise that the ill-health of Cohen's wife (she suffered a stroke in 2004[9]) had been a significant factor in the decisions he had made but maintained that he had still committed a serious breach of the rules.
The report recommended that Cohen apologise to the House, which he did on 29 January 2010, and that the Resettlement Grant of £65,000, normally paid to Members of Parliament upon retirement, be withheld.