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David Cameron's father died this afternoon just after the Prime Minister arrived at his hospital bedside in France.
Ian Cameron, 77, is thought to have been unconscious after suffering a stroke and doctors said he had suffered heart complications.
The Tory leader tore up a packed diary on being told in a 6am phone call from his mother that the man he called his role model had been taken ill on holiday.
He arrived just in time to say a tearful farewell.
A Whitehall aide said: “He is a son first and Prime Minister second.”
Two weeks ago Mr Cameron's wife Samantha gave birth to their daughter Florence while on holiday in Cornwall. Mr Cameron's father did not see the baby.
The former stockbroker was disabled from birth. He had both legs amputated in later years and lost the sight in one eye. Mr Cameron has spoken of his father's indomitable spirit as one of his greatest inspirations.
Mr Cameron decided at 9am to pull out of the weekly Prime Minister's Questions session to get to his father's hospital and support his elderly mother Mary. His brother Alex and sister Clare joined him on a flight to the South of France.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg stepped in to field questions in the Commons at noon. The Prime Minister had been expected to fend off attacks from Labour on his press adviser Andy Coulson. An official said: “The PM certainly did not want to miss Question Time but he had to make a judgment call, and he would not have wanted to make the wrong call.”
In the Commons, MPs united in sending best wishes to the family. Shadow justice secretary Jack Straw said the Prime Minister had made “exactly the right decision” to go to his father's side. Mr Clegg said: “We wish him and his family all best wishes at this difficult time.”
The Prime Minister, who will now take a few days off work, said before the election: “My father is a huge hero figure for me. He's an amazingly brave man because he was born with no heels — quite a disability.
“But the glass with him was half-full, normally with something alcoholic. I think I got my sense of optimism from him.”
David Cameron has also hailed his father and mother, a magistrate, as a key influence of his idea of a Big Society because of their community involvement. In a speech he said: “The Big Society is our big idea, but I need to say thanks to my mum and dad because really it's down to them.
“They showed me how a Big Society could work every day I was growing up. My father used to work really long days but he always had time for the parochial church council and the parish council. But the thing that strikes me looking back is how they wore their public service so lightly.”
An old family friend has said: “Ian was a huge personality. His twin passions were horseracing and White's (the St James's club where he was chairman) and he loved to socialise.”
FATHER WAS PRIME MINISTER'S ROLE MODEL
Since his early years, David Cameron looked up to his father Ian as a role model.
Friends say he admired his father's stoicism in the face of adversity and his spirited approach to life.
Mr Cameron senior was born on October 12, 1932, in central London.
His legs were badly deformed and he had to have a series of operations as a child — but played cricket and tennis at Eton, where contemporaries remember his huge strength.
After leaving school, he trained as an accountant but became a banker at Robert Fleming before following his father Donald in joining stockbrokers Panmure Gordon, where he became a partner in 1957.
He refused to allow his disability to limit his enjoyment of life and as a young man was famous for his parties. He married Mary Mount in 1962.
David is said to have inherited his determination to succeed. He told a friend his father — who has had both legs amputated, one in the early Nineties and one in 2006 — was his “role model”.
David's romance with future wife Samantha Sheffield is said to have begun on a holiday in Tuscany in 1992 to mark Ian's 60th birthday.
Reader views (5)
Joy and heartbreak are of course part of our lives however most of us do not have deal with these in such a public way God Bless All.
- Mike Melbourne, Bedford, 09/09/2010 07:24
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Deepest sympathies. I lost my father 5 years ago and it will always hurt. I just thank God I had such a wonderful special man as a dad and cherish the memories. All the best mate...
Paul x
- Paul, Bromley, 08/09/2010 18:16
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Mr Cameron is a family man and his loss by default should remind us all that somethings which we take for granted are very precious and their loss is irreplaceable.
He is in an awful position in that privacy is difficult but this isn;t political and we should all wish him and his family our heart felt condolences and remember losing someone you love makes all our other problems insignificant.
- Robert Marshall, London, 08/09/2010 17:31
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The photograph with this article sums it all up. Our heartfelt condolences to the Camerons at this sad moment.
- ID, Brighton UK, 08/09/2010 16:15
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After the heartbreak of losing his beloved son, Ivan; the joy of his daughter's birth, then this heartache happens. I hope that his father can recover from such a terrible illness.
- James from Camden, London, 08/09/2010 10:31
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