Lord Ashcroft misses his book launch due to ‘life-threatening’ illness

Michael Ashcroft, the former Conservative party deputy chairman who upset Downing Street with his recent biography of David Cameron, has spent 18 days in intensive care in the United States after suffering liver and renal failure.

A number of famous faces attended the launch including Ukip leader Nigel Farage and economist Vicky Pryce.

“Welcome to the launch of Call Me Dave and I’m sorry that I can not be with you this evening”, Ashcroft said in opening remarks read out by his publisher, Iain Dale. They also claimed Mr Cameron “inserted a private part of his anatomy” into a pig’s head during an initiation ceremony to an Oxford University society.

Allegations made in the book about David Cameron were branded as “utter nonsense” by sources close to the Prime Minister.

Lord Ashcroft fell ill on September 22, having arrived in Turkey to visit war graves and battlefields to mark the centenary of the Gallipoli Campaign.

He also suffered acute fluctuations in blood pressure that is now being controlled by medication with his condition believed to have been exacerbated because he is diabetic.

Guests sipping wines from his vineyards on the 29th floor of London’s Millbank Tower initially thought it was a joke.

Organisers of the Westminster book launch said the peer had suffered a “life-threatening” illness but is now “out of danger”.

“He was struck down by sceptic shock that resulted in liver and renal failure, and consequential heart damage”.

He was treated by a local doctor before flying for the Turks and Caicos Islands the next day.

After being given antibiotics, the 69-year-old continued to travel but on September 24, he was taken to the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio where he was diagnosed with septic shock.

The video explained that he is recovering from liver and kidney failure as well as internal bleeding caused by the leaking intestinal legion. “As you will have just seen, I have been a little preoccupied for the last four weeks”.

He added that “a great deal of material” about Mr Cameron’s “private life” was left out of the book – prompting gasps from the audience.