Britain’s Cameron flies to France to tend to sick father, misses key Parliamentary session

UK’s Cameron flies to France to tend to sick dad

LONDON — British Prime Minister David Cameron unexpectedly flew to France Wednesday after his father suffered a stroke while on vacation, the leader’s office said.

Cameron, who returned to work Tuesday following the birth of a daughter, will miss his first scheduled question session with lawmakers since Parliament resumed after a summer break.

In a statement Wednesday, Cameron’s office said the leader had been told his 77-year-old father had “a stroke and heart complications while on holiday in France.”

Cameron’s spokesman Steve Field declined to specify exactly where in France Cameron’s father Ian was being treated. He said only that Cameron’s father and his wife, Mary, had been vacationing in southern France.

Field said Cameron was not accompanied by his wife or children, but that his brother and sisters were also traveling to France to be at their father’s side.

Cameron’s father Ian, a retired stockbroker, has previously had both of his legs amputated and uses a wheelchair.

“After talking to doctors at the hospital the prime minister has decided to fly to be with his father and mother Mary,” Cameron’s office said.

Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg will stand in for the 43-year-old Cameron at the House of Commons questions session, the weekly showdown that offers lawmakers the chance to address the premier directly.

Cameron and wife Samantha’s fourth child — Florence Rose Endellion Cameron — was born Aug. 24. The family have two other children, Elwen and Nancy. Their eldest son Ivan, who had epilepsy and cerebral palsy, died last year aged 6.