While Mr Cameron attended the memorial service for Nelson Mandela in South Africa, his wife Samantha was looking after the children at No 10 last night. But she found time to address supporters of the charity Demand, Design & Manufacture for Disability, which helped her late son Ivan cope with the difficulties of his tragically short life.
“This incredible charity has, for the past 33 years, been improving, sometimes dramatically, the lives of people with disabilities of all ages, by creating bespoke equipment and furniture for them,” she told guests including Esther Rantzen. “More than 10,000 people have benefited from equipment designed, made, modified or refurbished by Demand over the past five years alone.”
Samantha introduced a short film about a small boy called Rio, who had an artificial leg. She told me later she had met Mandela. “He came here for his birthday celebrations,” she said. “He met Ivan, too.”
Fiona Boyle, sister of Lord St Levan, said she hadn’t been to Downing Street since she sat on Harold Macmillan’s knee at a children’s party for his grandson Mark Faber.
