Did Cameron's 'rock' die of a heart attack 20 hours before his body was discovered in a portable toilet at Glastonbury?

  • Senior Tory is called by No.10 over his criticism of party
  • 20 hours later, his body is found at Glastonbury festival
  • One report claims it was a heart attack - another says suicide
  • Pathologist unable to confirm cause of death

The mysterious death of a senior David Cameron ally left the Tory Party in shock yesterday.

The body of Christopher Shale, 56, was discovered at 9am inside a portable lavatory in the VIP area at the Glastonbury Festival.

Festival organiser Michael Eavis initially said he believed it was a ‘suicide situation’.

Close: David Cameron and Christopher Shale at a constituency event

Close: David Cameron and Christopher Shale at a constituency event

Shock: Christopher Shale is believed to have died from a heart attack but the definite cause is unknown

Shock: Christopher Shale is believed to have died from a heart attack but the definite cause is unknown

However friends of the Shale family later said they had been told he suffered a ‘massive heart attack’ up to 20 hours earlier, and police said there was no evidence he had killed himself.

A distraught Prime Minister said: ‘A big rock in my life has suddenly been rolled away.’

A pathologist has been unable to determine how Mr Shale died, an inquest heard today.

The hearing, which was held at Wells Town Hall, heard that Mr Shale was found within the festival's Orange Zone and declared dead at 9.17am by an emergency care practitioner.

Mr Shale's wife formally identified his body later that morning.

Coroner's officer Ben Batley told the inquest that a post mortem examination was carried out yesterday and the preliminary cause of death was 'unascertained'.

Mr Batley said further toxicology tests would be carried out to establish how Mr Shale died.

The coroner said that he was adjourning the inquest until a later date.

He added: 'As a result of me having opened this inquest I am content to release the body to the family.'

No members of Mr Shale's family were present at the inquest.

Shortly before he died, Mr Shale had received a phone call from Downing Street about damning criticisms he had made of his own party.

In a leaked strategy memo, published in yesterday’s Mail on Sunday, Mr Shale had said the Tories were seen as ‘voracious, crass, always on the take’.

The chairman of the Conservative association which covers Mr Cameron’s constituency of Witney, Oxfordshire, Mr Shale was attending the festival with his wife Nikki and their family.

They reported him missing on Saturday night and Mrs Shale spent the early hours of Sunday desperately searching for him.

The body was eventually found by a member of the festival staff. Friends said his family had been told his fatal heart attack would have happened ‘around lunchtime’ on Saturday.

Downing Street confirmed it had phoned Mr Shale about the leaked memo at 12.30pm. But it insisted the call was not a rebuke. Mr Cameron said he and his wife Samantha were ‘devastated’ by the death of Mr Shale.

Devastated: A private ambulance believed to be carrying the body of Mr Shale is driven out of the VIP backstage area at Glastonbury music festival

Devastated: A private ambulance believed to be carrying the body of Mr Shale is driven out of the VIP backstage area at Glastonbury music festival

Make way: Security lift up barriers so the private ambulance can leave the festival area

Make way: Security lift up barriers so the private ambulance can leave the festival area

VIP: The Pyramid Arena, where a number of celebrities have been staying, is closed off by police

VIP: The Pyramid Arena, where a number of celebrities have been staying, is closed off by police

Cordon: The body was found in a luxury Winnebago by a worker this morning

Cordon: The body was found in a luxury Winnebago by a worker this morning

Glastonbury Festival organiser Michael Eavis speaks to the media this morning after Christopher Shale was found dead in a toilet

Glastonbury Festival organiser Michael Eavis speaks to the media this morning after Christopher Shale was found dead in a toilet

DID TRUDGING THROUGH HEAVY MUD SPARK HEART ATTACK?

The treacle like mud at Glastonbury could have sparked the heart attack that killed David Cameron's close Tory friend.

As the probe into his death continues, a 68 year old regular festival goer spoke about the harsh conditions which may have led to the death.

Brian Highley has been to the majority of Glastonbury festivals over the years - but this year he returned home a day early because of the thick mud which turned to treacle when combined with straw and baking heat.

The pensioner, from Newton Poppleford, Devon, said: 'I am older than Christopher Shale but think the whole event should come with a health warning for people with any health problem.'

Explaining the route from a back stage bar or restaurant to the toilets he said Mr Shale would have to have gone across an area of mud and straw that clumped together, adding extra weight to his wellies.

He continued: 'Inside the chemical flushing cubicles they were kept reasonably clean throughout the festival but the cubicles were tiny and I found myself quite distressed even at the thought of having to visit the toilets.

'I came home on Sunday morning and this year at my age I did find it very tough going. And there were plenty of much younger people who trudged home on Sunday who also found it very hard going.

'There were plenty of people complaining about their legs aching. And if this chap had a heart condition, the extra stress placed on his body by the oozing mud may have triggered it.'

The two men were close friends and the Prime Minister had invited Mr Shale to join him for a private lunch over the weekend. He declined because he was attending the festival.

In a statement, Mr Cameron said: ‘Sam and I were devastated to hear the news about Christopher. He was a great friend and has been a huge support over the last decade.

‘Christopher was one of the most truly generous people I’ve ever met – he was always giving to others, his time, his help, his enthusiasm and above all his love of life.’

Mr Cameron praised Mr Shale’s ‘massive contribution to the Conservative Party both locally and nationally’.

Mr Shale had a 20-year-old son with his wife Nikki and was stepfather to her two children from a previous marriage. The family have a £1.5million country house near Chipping Norton.

The Prime Minister said: ‘Our love and prayers are with Nikki and the family. They’ve lost an amazing dad, west Oxfordshire has lost a big and wonderful man and like so many others Sam and I have lost a close and valued friend.’

Mr Shale’s death coincided with the publication of a leaked Conservative Party strategy memo in the Mail on Sunday, in which he said there was ‘no reason to join. Lots of reasons not to’. He said the constituency party was ‘not always an appealing proposition’, adding: ‘Over the years we have come across as graceless, voracious, crass, always on the take.’

Mr Shale argued that the local party needed to change to boost membership, and said the Prime Minister’s own association had gained only 22 new members in the past year.

The article was written by Mail on Sunday columnist James Forsyth, the Spectator’s political editor, who contacted No 10 about it on Saturday.

The festival site: Mr Shale's wife Nikki spent desperate hours searching for him after he went missing on Saturday

The festival site: Mr Shale's wife Nikki spent desperate hours searching for him after he went missing on Saturday

CSI Glastonbury: A police investigator (left) talks to festival security staff

CSI Glastonbury: A police investigator (left) talks to festival security staff

'VORACIOUS CRASS'...WHAT LEAKED MEMO SAID ABOUT THE TORIES

‘Collectively, we are not always an appealing proposition.

‘Over the years we have come across as graceless, voracious, crass, always on the take.

‘People think we’ll beg and steal from them. And they’re right. 

‘When we are together we are not always a group of people to whom many of our potential members are going to be magnetically drawn.

‘When we come together as a group we sometimes morph into something different, less attractive. Our environment alters us.

‘We must look different – when we communicate, when we’re together. We must sound different – in what we say, how we say it, the language we use, our tone of voice. We must behave differently – try to see ourselves as others see us.’

Criticising Tories who want to offer old-style Conservative policies: ‘It’s what, pre-2005, DC used to call double ham and eggs: We’ve offered them ham and eggs repeatedly. They don’t want it. So how can the solution possibly be double ham and eggs?’

Suggesting fundraising opportunities: ‘West Oxfordshire Conservative Association is, in effect, going into the event-management business. The association needs to offer events with “money-can’t-buy” appeal. (Such as) the PMQ DIY Lunch: Bring your own sandwiches to watch PMQs [Prime Minister’s Questions] in a different fine country house in the constituency every week; glass of wine, cup of coffee, informal discussion, yours for a fiver.’

Mr Cameron’s press secretary Gabby Bertin called Mr Shale at 12.30pm that day but could not get through to his mobile phone and left a voicemail message. The Daily Mail has been told she told him not to worry about it, but said it would be better not to discuss the issue with journalists.

Mr Shale did not return the call but contacted a second Downing Street official whom he knew well.

They had both spent time on Mr Cameron’s Project Umubano, helping to provide health and education services in the African state of Rwanda.

Mr Shale asked his friend, who also happened to be at Glastonbury this weekend, who he should contact about the newspaper report.

The official told him to contact Tory central office. But Mr Shale did not make the call. His mood was described as ‘perfectly relaxed’ about the memo. ‘He’s a confident guy, he was not particularly worried about it,’ a source said.

Mr Shale also spoke to Mr Cameron’s constituency agent, Barry Norton, about the leaked memo. It is not clear who initiated the conversation.

Mr Norton said Mr Shale was aware of the article and was ‘circumspect’ about it, though he was confident it was ‘not really an issue’.

‘He said he was enjoying his Glastonbury weekend and everything was very happy and positive in what he had to say to me,’ he said. He added that there was a history of heart problems in Mr Shale’s family.

Friends said Mr Shale attended the event every year.

Glastonbury organiser Mr Eavis said Mr Shale was staying with his family on a campsite outside the official festival site.

Mr Shale's home in Chipping Norton looked isolated after he was found dead at Glastonbury

Mr Shale's home in Chipping Norton looked isolated after he was found dead at Glastonbury

Thousands watch on the Park Stage where Pulp were performing yesterday. More than 137,000 people will attend the festival this weekend

Thousands watch on the Park Stage where Pulp were performing yesterday. More than 137,000 people will attend the festival this weekend

David and Samantha Cameron were close friends of Mr Shale
A policeman takes notes as an investigation is carried out in the VIP area of the festival site today

David and Samantha Cameron were close friends of Mr Shale, the Prime Minister said today. Right, a policeman takes notes as an investigation is launched in the VIP area at the Glastonbury site

FROM COST CUTTER TO AID GIVER

Christopher Shale was ‘incredibly close’ to the Prime Minister, Westminster Tories confirmed last night.

The 56-year-old had made his fortune as head of Oxford Resources, a corporate cost-cutting consultancy.

While he owned a house in South Kensington, his family home was outside Chipping Norton, only a few minutes’ drive from Mr Cameron’s constituency cottage.

A former director of the think tank Centre for Policy Studies, Mr Shale nurtured a traditional brand of Toryism; he was a monarchist and eurosceptic as well as a philanthropist. He had been involved for some years in a Conservative Party project to help people in Umubano, Rwanda, which he visited, for the fifth time, this year.

‘I have hundreds of happy moments from Rwanda,’ he wrote on the project’s website.

‘It has always been such a mix of people, all ages and talents, learning from and laughing with our Rwandan partners – some of the most inspirational people I have ever met. I’d urge people to do whatever necessary to raise the money to visit Umubano.’

He and his wife Nikki, the former wife of an Italian count, also owned a home on the island of Lamu off the Kenyan coast.

Last year, they put up for sale a six-bedroom house outside Charlbury, near Chipping Norton, which they had been renovating for two years. With a gym, wine cellar, croquet lawn, tennis court and huge Aga kitchen, it went on the market for £3.25million.

‘It’s a wrench to let it go but it doesn’t make sense any more,’ said Mrs Shale, who explained she and her husband wanted to spend more time in Kenya.

Nevertheless Mr Shale took the chairmanship in west Oxfordshire, where he had been politically active for many years.

He said the Tory official’s family noticed he was missing on Saturday night and Mrs Shale spent the early hours of Sunday frantically searching for him.

At a news conference, Mr Eavis said: ‘I’m told it was a suicide situation in the early hours of the morning … It is a personal situation, but it looks like suicide.’

The portable lavatory in which the body was found was in the VIP ‘Winnebago’ area of the site, in the backstage area behind the main Pyramid stage.

Celebrities including festival performers, model Kate Moss and Wayne and Coleen Rooney had all been spotted in the backstage area during the three-day festival.

Forensics officers yesterday searched the Winnebago area, where revellers paid up to £10,000 to stay for three nights. Officers were seen comforting a distraught woman, believed to be Mrs Shale.

Tory sources said the contents of his leaked memo were known to only a small number of people in the constituency, where a battle has been raging between modernisers and traditionalists.

A No.10 source said: ‘The Prime Minister was aware of it, but had not read it.’ Rupert Soames, grandson of Winston Churchill and a close friend of Mr Shale, had eaten with him on Friday afternoon as the pair were staying in the same campsite area.

He said: ‘I last saw him as he crossed the VIP area on Saturday as he headed in the direction of the lavatories.’

Mr Soames is understood to have told Mr Shale’s wife of the last time he saw her husband before the pair asked security staff to check the toilets.

A police spokesman said: ‘The results of the post-mortem combined with the inquiries conducted into the circumstances surrounding the death indicate it is not suspicious. Further tests will be conducted to establish the exact cause of death.’

Coldplay perform on the pyramid stage last night hours before the senior Conservative was discovered dead

Coldplay perform on the pyramid stage last night hours before the senior Conservative was discovered dead


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