Chequers party: Now Cameron checks out

Blair and Brown turn down Chequers party From Saturday’s Mail

DAViD Cameron is the latest former prime minister to snub next weekend’s Chequers party.

Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have already declined to attend the celebration to mark 100 years since Chequers became the PM’s official country retreat.

All living former premiers were invited to the dinner at the 16th-century house in Buckinghamshire next Saturday, which will be hosted by Boris Johnson.

Sir John Major and Theresa May are expected to be there, but Mr Cameron turned the invitation down because he had a previous engagement.

The commitment pre-dated receiving the invitation from the Chequers Trust, and he is said to be ‘sorry’ he cannot attend. Mr Cameron, 54, was prime minister between 2010 and 2016 and used Chequers most weekends.

Last week both Mr Blair and Mr Brown said they were asked only at short notice and could not change their schedule.

Chequers, which was built in 1565, was given to the nation by Tory MP Sir Arthur Lee in 1917 to be used as a country retreat for the serving prime minister. The first prime minister to move in was Liberal leader David Lloyd George, in 1921.

Sir Arthur had noted that, traditionally, prime ministers had been from the landed classes and had country residences of their own in which to entertain foreign dignitaries or simply to relax.

He said that with the advent of democracy, premiers were much less likely to own huge mansions, meaning they needed somewhere of their own.

The Chequers estate Act 1917 created a trust allowing prime ministers use of the mansion, which has ten bedrooms, a tennis court and a swimming pool. The Chequers Trust receives an annual grant of nearly £1million from the Government for its upkeep.

A spokesman for Mr Blair said he had not pulled out of the event because he had never said he was going.

A spokesman for Mr Brown said: ‘Mr and Mrs Brown were invited around one month ago to an event a few days from now on September 18.

‘However, given the short notice and their pre-arranged diary - including family responsibilities that day – they were unable to change their arrangements to attend the event. There is no question of them “pulling out” of a preagreed arrangement.’

Mrs May will attend the event, a spokesman confirmed.

Sir John’s office was contacted, but did not respond.