UK's Cameron says goodbye to dad
2010-09-09 11:48
London - British Prime Minister David Cameron thanked French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday for helping him reach his father's hospital bedside before he died.
Sarkozy provided a helicopter to take Cameron on the last leg of the journey to the hospital near the Mediterranean port of Toulon in the south of France after he had flown from London.
Ian Cameron, 77, a former stockbroker, whom the prime minister described as a "life enhancer", had fallen ill on Wednesday during a holiday in France with his wife, suffering a stroke with heart complications.
"I am extremely grateful to President Sarkozy who helped me get to the hospital while dad was still with us so I could say goodbye," Cameron said in a statement.
"We would like to thank Nicolas and everyone at the hospital who worked so hard to look after dad."
The prime minister, who had returned to work only this week from paternity leave, remained in France overnight with his mother and other close members of the family.
His parents were halfway through a holiday when Ian Cameron suddenly fell ill and died before he had the chance to see newborn Florence.
The prime minister, who took office in May, praised his father's "incredible sense of fun and enjoyment" as well as his character in overcoming a disability.
An amazing man
Ian Cameron, born without heels and who had both legs amputated, was a successful stockbroker, sending the future prime minister to the elite fee-paying school, Eton.
"Our dad was an amazing man - a real life enhancer," Cameron added.
"He never let the disability he was born with or the complications in later life get in the way of his incredible sense of fun and enjoyment.
"He touched a lot of lives in lots of different ways and was a brilliant husband and father.
"You could never be down for long when he was around. We will miss him terribly but have a bank of memories that can never be exhausted."
Cameron was forced to miss a prime minister's question and answer session in parliament on Wednesday, his Liberal Democrat coalition partner and deputy Nick Clegg standing in for him.
Florence was the Camerons' fourth child. However, their first-born, Ivan, who was severely disabled, died last year at the age of six.