David Cameron yesterday spoke of how he had lost "a rock" in his life after one of his aides was found dead in a toilet at the Glastonbury music festival.
The Prime Minister and his wife Samantha said they were devastated after father-of-three Christopher Shale’s body was found by police in a portable toilet in a backstage VIP area at 9am yesterday.
Mr Shale, 56, chairman of the Tory leader’s West Oxfordshire constituency association, died shortly after a memo in which he had claimed there was little reason to join the Conservative Party was leaked to a Sunday newspaper.
Relatives raised the alarm at the festival after he went missing overnight.
Michael Eavis, the festival organiser, yesterday said: “I’m told it was a suicide situation in the early hours of this morning. It was in the Winnebago area.”
However, last night a police source said investigations suggested the death was not suicide and festival officials also privately made clear it was not believed Mr Shale took his own life.
In his statement, Mr Cameron said: “A big rock in my life has suddenly been rolled away. 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.
“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.”
Later, 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.
“Therefore Avon and Somerset Police are not treating the death as suspicious. Further tests will be conducted to establish the exact cause of death.”
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