David Cameron opens up about son’s death and ‘black clouds’ of grief
Former prime minister David Cameron has opened up about the death of his six-year-old son Ivan in 2009 – and described the “chaos” of caring for him while balancing a life in politics.
Speaking to Sky’s Kay Burley, the former Tory leader, 58, said the loss of Ivan – who had Ohtahara’s syndrome – was “completely transformational”.
Lord Cameron said: “Bringing up children is hard enough but if you have a child who is having seizures every day, is having to be fed through a tube and needs to be cared for all night as well as all day, who’s going in and out of hospital.
“I can still remember the chaos… of you’re in hospital, then you’re back home, then you’re back again. I had just become an MP [when Ivan was born]. I remember turning up for debates in the House of Commons completely exhausted because I’ve been in St Mary’s Paddington [hospital] all night.
“I remember this great blessing of having your first child. In spite of all the difficulties he had with the seizures and cerebral palsy and everything – you still remember this beautiful, smiling boy that you would rest on your lap and look after and love.
“The extraordinary thing about grief is to start with, there’s nothing but black clouds. But after a while, happy memories do break through.”
Ivan Cameron died in 2009 Pic: Reuters
Politics latest: Sunak tries to wrong-foot Starmer
Lord Cameron, who resigned as prime minister after the 2016 Brexit referendum before returning for a stint as foreign secretary under Rishi Sunak, has recently started working with a joint US-UK venture that aims to develop 40 new treatments for rare diseases in the next decade.
The partnership between the University of Oxford and the Harrington Discovery Institute in Cleveland, Ohio sets out to bring together academia, pharmaceutical companies, philanthropy and venture capital, Lord Cameron has said. He will be the chair of the centre’s advisory council.
👉 Tap here to follow Politics at Jack and Sam’s wherever you get your podcasts 👈
He told Sky News he believes Ivan’s life “could be very different” if he was born today, saying he and his wife Samantha “didn’t really get an answer” on Ivan’s condition.
“Back then, the first genome was being sequenced, the whole code of the human being – it took seven years and cost $2bn,” he said.
“Today, you can sequence a genome in an afternoon and it will cost you a few hundred dollars so we can see the full DNA, the genetic, biological makeup of a human being.
“That might not provide you with an answer but in some cases it will.
“There are thousands of different rare diseases, but about 80% seem to have a genetic base.
“There have been children born with those sorts of symptoms [that Ivan had] who’ve been identified through genomic medicine, who’ve had treatments, and that has improved their condition.
“There would be a very good chance that if Ivan was born today, and we immediately sequenced the genome, you could spot what was wrong, [and] that you might be able to take steps.”
Read more:
Starmer met Swift at concert after getting free tickets
What could Rachel Reeves announce in the budget?
Salmond’s body to be returned to Scotland as RAF reject request
Lord Cameron also said he felt “lucky” that he and his wife “took the risk” of having more children after Ivan. They share two daughters and another son – Nancy, Florence and Arthur.
“At the time there was no genomics and genetic counselling back then,” he said.
“[It] was, ‘well, maybe it’s genetic, maybe it’s not’. Could be one in four, could be one in 1,000 – who knows?
“I’m lucky we took the risk. We have three happy, healthy children.”
The former prime minister also opened up about assisted dying, which MPs are set to vote on after a bill was introduced in parliament.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
What is assisted dying?
He says he’s “got an open mind” and is “thinking about” the issue.
“I haven’t supported it before on the basis that I’ve always worried about vulnerable people being put under pressure,” he said.
“Once you have some form of assisted dying, what’s the pressure put on people by relatives? I’ve always had that worry and concern.”
But his mind was changed “over the years of watching this debate and listening to the passionate arguments that people have put forward, having also known people with things like motor neurone disease and seen the deterioration and know how awful the end can be”.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
In a wide-ranging interview, he also dismissed claims in Boris Johnson‘s new book that Lord Cameron would “f*** him up” if he supported the Leave campaign in the 2016 Brexit referendum, saying: “That’s not my recollection.
“Any recollection I have is that I had a proper discussion and argument – heated at times.”
Lord Cameron also reflected on a plan to sanction two Israeli ministers while he was foreign secretary, saying it did not go ahead because the work had not been completed and that he was advised it was “a political act in the wrong direction”.
But he added the plan was “a better option than what [Labour] have done in terms of the partial arms embargo on Israel”.
“We do back Israel’s right to self-defence. We just had two missile attacks from Iran into Israel,” he said.
“We’re trying to help prevent that from happening using our own planes and the military. It seems to me utterly bizarre to be banning some arms exports from Israel.”
UK
Teenager living in ‘continuous pain’ after surgeon Dr Yaser Jabbar carried out ‘inappropriate’ operations
A 15-year-old boy who was operated on twice by a now unlicensed Great Ormond Street surgeon is living with “continuous” pain.
Finias Sandu has been told by an independent review the procedures he underwent on both his legs were “unacceptable” and “inappropriate” for his age.
The teenager from Essex was born with a condition that causes curved bones in his legs.
Aged seven, a reconstructive procedure was carried out on Finias’s left leg, lengthening the limb by 3.5cm.
A few years later, the same operation was carried out on his right leg which involved wearing an invasive and heavy metal frame for months.
He has now been told by independent experts these procedures should not have taken place and concerns have been raised over a lack of imaging being taken prior to the operations.
Yaser Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence last year. Pic: LinkedIn
His doctor at London’s prestigious Great Ormond Street Hospital was former consultant orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar. Sky News has spoken to others he treated.
Mr Jabbar also did not arrange for updated scans or for relevant X-rays to be conducted ahead of the procedures.
The surgeries have been found to have caused Finias “harm” and left him in constant pain.
“The pain is there every day, every day I’m continuously in pain,” he told Sky News.
“It’s not something really sharp, although it does get to a certain point where it hurts quite a lot, but it’s always there. It just doesn’t leave, it’s a companion to me, just always there.”
Read more:
Girl who had leg amputated suffered harm during surgeon’s care
Child, 11, in wheelchair after surgeon’s operations
Hospital accused of ‘covering up’ concerns about suspended surgeon
Finias’s surgery pictures
Care of over 700 patients being assessed
Mr Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence in January last year after working at Great Ormond Street between 2017 and 2022.
The care of his 700-plus patients is being assessed, with some facing corrective surgery, among them Finias.
“Trusting somebody is hard to do, knowing what they have done to me physically and emotionally, you know, it’s just too much to comprehend for me,” he said.
“It wasn’t something just physically, like my leg pain and everything else. It was emotionally, because I put my trust in that specific doctor. My parents and I don’t really understand the more scientific terms, we just went by what he said.”
Doctors refused to treat Finias because of his surgeries
Finias and his family relocated to their native Romania soon after the reconstructive frame was removed from his right leg in the summer of 2021.
The pain worsened and they sought advice from doctors in Romania, who refused to treat Finias because of the impact of his surgeries.
Dozens of families seeking legal claims
His mother Cornelia Sandu is “furious” and feels her trust in the hospital has been shattered. They are now among dozens of families seeking legal claims.
Cyrus Plaza from Hudgell Solicitors is representing the family. He said: “In cases where it has been identified that harm was caused, we want to see Great Ormond Street Hospital agreeing to pay interim payments of compensation for the children, so that if they need therapy or treatment now, they can access it.”
Finias is accessing therapy and mental health support as he prepares for corrective surgery later in the year.
A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital told Sky News: “We are deeply sorry to Finias and his family, and all the patients and families who have been impacted.
“We want every patient and family who comes to our hospital to feel safe and cared for. We will always discuss concerns families may have and, where they submit claims, we will work to ensure the legal process can be resolved as quickly as possible.”
Finias with his mother and sister
Service not ‘safe for patients’
Sky News has attempted to contact Mr Jabbar.
An external review into the wider orthopaedic department at the hospital began in September 2022.
It was commissioned after the Royal College of Surgeons warned the hospital’s lower limb reconstruction service was not “safe for patients or adequate to meet demand”.
The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Sir Keir Starmer has said closer ties with the EU will be good for the UK’s jobs, bills and borders ahead of a summit where he could announce a deal with the bloc.
The government is set to host EU leaders in London on Monday as part of its efforts to “reset” relations post-Brexit.
A deal granting the UK access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table, according to reports – but disagreements over a youth mobility scheme and fishing rights could prove to be a stumbling block.
The prime minister has appeared to signal a youth mobility deal could be possible, telling The Times that while freedom of movement is a “red line”, youth mobility does not come under this.
His comment comes after Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said on Friday work on a defence deal was progressing but “we’re not there yet”.
Sir Keir met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later that day while at a summit in Albania.
Ursula von der Leyen and Sir Keir had a brief meeting earlier this week. Pic: PA
If agreed, the deal will be the third in two weeks, following trade agreements with India and the US.
Sir Keir said: “First India, then the United States – in the last two weeks alone that’s jobs saved, faster growth and wages rising.
“More money in the pockets of British working people, achieved through striking deals not striking poses.
“Tomorrow, we take another step forward, with yet more benefits for the United Kingdom as the result of a strengthened partnership with the European Union.”
Read more:
Humza Yousaf hits out at Starmer’s ‘dog whistle’ stance on immigration
MPs criticise terminally ill Esther Rantzen’s assisted dying intervention
👉 Click here to follow Electoral Dysfunction wherever you get your podcasts 👈
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “worried” about what the PM might have negotiated.
Ms Badenoch – who has promised to rip up the deal with the EU if it breaches her red lines on Brexit – said: “Labour should have used this review of our EU trade deal to secure new wins for Britain, such as an EU-wide agreement on Brits using e-gates on the continent.
“Instead, it sounds like we’re giving away our fishing quotas, becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again and getting free movement by the back door. This isn’t a reset, it’s a surrender.”
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway