Cameron constituency chief found dead at Glastonbury

A 55-year-old man found dead in a portable toilet at the Glastonbury festival this morning has been identified as Christopher Shale, constituency chairman of David Cameron's west Oxfordshire seat and a close friend of the prime minister.

His body was found at about 9am today. Avon and Somerset Police immediately cordoned off the lavatories, which were in the backstage VIP area.

First reports suggested it was a heart attack, but Michael Eavis, the festival organiser, told a press conference this morning that it was a "suicide situation". Police refused to confirm or deny the suicide claim.

The discovery was made only hours after first editions of the Mail on Sunday became available, in which Shale was reported to have admitted that there is currently "no reason to join" the Tory party.

James Forsyth, political editor of the Spectator, used his regular Mail column to examine the Conservatives' current difficulties with falling membership under David Cameron's leadership.

Forsyth revealed the ciontents of a leaked document prepared by Shale in which he presented a "scathing assessment" of the West Oxfordshire Conservative association's social skills and fundraising efforts.

"Over the years we have come across as graceless, voracious, crass, always on the take," Shale wrote. He concluded that people don't want to join the party because "they think we'll beg and steal from them. And they're right."

According to Forsyth, the prime minister was "aware" of the document.

News of Shales's death made sense of an early morning tweet from Times columnist Caitlin Moran at Glastonbury: "Woke up to find the man in the Winnebago next to us died. Bit of a grim start to the morning." ·