Christopher Shale death: toxicology tests to be carried out

More tests ordered as postmortem held after Glastonbury death of Tory constituency aide to David Cameron proves inconclusive Toxicology tests are being carried out on the body of Christopher Shale, the 56-year old constituency aide to David Cameron who was found dead at the Glastonbury festival on Sunday morning. A spokesman for Avon and Somerset police said the initial postmortem had proved inconclusive and a toxicology report had been ordered that would take at least 10 days to deliver its conclusions. An inquest into the death was due to be opened and adjourned by the East Somerset coroner at Wells town hall at 2.30pm on Monday. Police said the postmortem did not suggest the death was suspicious. Shale was the chairman of the West Oxfordshire Conservative association in the prime minister’s Witney constituency and had been at Glastonbury with his wife and children. He went to the portable toilet in the VIP area where he was staying behind the main stage around lunchtime on Saturday and was found dead at about 9am on Sunday. He had been contacted just after 12.30pm on Saturday by a Downing Street official to tell him not to talk to the press about a memo written by him which was highly critical of the Tory party and had been leaked to a Sunday newspaper. The memo was essentially a strategy document setting out how to recruit members. It said the local party appeared “graceless, voracious, crass, always on the take”, and needed to radically change. Shale spoke to his deputy chairman, Richard Langridge who said he was “cross” about the leak. Langridge was reported saying Shale was “disappointed but it was one of those things”. In a further call, Shale discussed the leak with Cameron’s Witney constituency agent, Barry Norton. Police and sources close to the family said they believed Shale died of a massive heart attack and claimed his family had a history of heart problems. At a press briefing on Monday morning, the prime minister’s spokesman said: “It’s true that there was a phone call to [Shale] on Saturday to make him aware of the fact that a story would be running in a Sunday newspaper.” Asked if Cameron was satisfied there had been no inappropriate behaviour by his officials, the spokesman replied: “Absolutely”. Early reports of the death, including one from the Glastonbury festival organiser, Michael Eavis, suggested that Shale had killed himself. These were dismissed as inaccurate. “I am told it was a suicide situation this morning, in the early hours of this morning,” Eavis told a press conference on Sunday. Cameron said the death had left him and his wife, Samantha, devastated, and that “a big rock in my life has suddenly been rolled away.” The prime minister had been aware of the memo’s existence and there is deep concern inside Downing Street that its contents, known only to a small number of people, had been disclosed. Party officials had said earlier that there was no suggestion from Shale’s behaviour that he was overly concerned about the leak. Shale’s contacts with No 10 officials were seen as routine and polite, and he is not believed to have taken up the advice to speak to the party headquarters. One senior source said the heart attack was “just a dreadful coincidence”, adding: “The story in the Mail on Sunday did not concern us that much.” After the texts, Shale did contact Norton, who said: “He was absolutely in good health. We understand that his death has been as the result of a heart attack, that is the information we have. “There’s a history of that in his family and anything to the contrary, at the moment, is totally scurrilous.” Asked if Shale had been aware of the Mail article, he said: “Yes he was. He was very aware of that article. He was very circumspect with it, and was quite confident that this was something that was not really an issue. “And he was looking forward to increasing our membership, and was working on a pilot to do that.” It was pointed out that Shale, who worked in PR, management consultancy and marketing, was a robust character not to be fazed by the interplay of media and politics. He had been staying in one of the luxury caravans behind Glastonbury’s pyramid stage. His wife raised the alarm early in the morning, but his body was not found until 9am. Rupert Soames, a businessman and friend of Shale who was at Glastonbury and helped co-ordinate arrangements following his death, said through a spokesman that medics had said they believed Shale had died of a massive heart attack at “around lunchtime” on Saturday. The prime minister said Shale had been “a huge support” over the 10 years he had been MP for Witney. Cameron said: “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. “It was in that spirit that he made a massive contribution to the Conservative party. “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.” In a statement, Eavis said: “I would like to express my deepest sympathy to [Shale's] family and friends.” Conservatives David Cameron Glastonbury festival Festivals Robert Booth Patrick Wintour guardian.co.uk

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