A senior Conservative and friend of David Cameron who was found dead in a toilet at the Glastonbury Festival died of natural causes, a coroner has ruled.
Christopher Shale, 56, chairman of West Oxfordshire Conservative Association, was found dead on 26 June.
The inquest into the death of the prime minister's constituency chairman heard he was missing on the site for about 18 hours before he was found.
East Somerset coroner Tony Williams ruled he died from heart disease.
The inquest at Wells Town Hall heard Mr Shale was found dead in a backstage VIP area near the Other Stage.
'Excessive workload'
Mr Cameron, who is the MP for Witney in Oxfordshire, said he was "devastated" by Mr Shale's death, describing him as a "rock".
The inquest heard that Mr Shale was overweight and asthmatic.
Pathologist Basil Purdue said his weight put "an excessive workload" on his heart.
On June 24, the day before he went missing, Mr Shale spoke of feeling unwell. The next day he complained of shortness of breath, which he put down to his asthma.
When he failed to turn up for lunch with friends and family or make contact, his wife Nikki reported him missing.
'Inaccurate speculation'
The next morning a friend of Mr Shale retraced his steps and came across a locked toilet.
When he knocked and there was no response, he broke in and found Mr Shale dead.
Following Tuesday's hearing, Mrs Shale paid tribute to her husband and hit out at "inaccurate speculation" regarding his death.
She said: "It was always obvious to us, and confirmed very soon afterwards, that my husband, my darling husband, died of natural causes.
"It has been a cause of great regret to our children, to Chris's family and all our friends, that so much inaccurate speculation has appeared in the media with regard to the circumstances of his death."
BBC
Remembering Christopher Shale
Those of us who have visited Rwanda with the Conservatives’ Project Umubano are preparing for this year’s trip with the usual excitement but unusually heavy hearts. It was with such sadness that we learned of the loss of one of our most dedicated members, Christopher Shale.
It is hard for us to believe that Christopher will not be in Rwanda with us this year. So much has been written about his life, but it can only begin to touch on the remarkable dedication he had to improving the lives of Rwandans. He was an inspiring Umubano figurehead, pioneering a brilliant community project to help Rwandans into work for the last four years. We have wonderful memories of him as the heart and soul of our Project.
Thanks to him a garden and Community Centre was built in Kinyinya for orphan headed households in 2008, in 2009 led a team helping young survivors into work and in 2010 he was at the forefront of our project supporting survivors’ charities. This year Christopher had proposed his most exciting project yet; a Dragon’s Den style programme to help charities improve their fundraising skills to secure their future.
Christopher had an extraordinary rapport with everyone, whether it was his infectious laugh, or his can-do attitude, and his presence was truly felt and valued by all our volunteers. Holding court on the steps of Solace Ministries late every evening, Christopher would have all Umubanoites in fits of laughter, at his wickedly amusing reflections on the day’s events.
Those who saw firsthand Christopher’s enthusiasm for Project Umubano know that he would want us to go to Rwanda in a two weeks’ time to carry on the good work, ensuring its legacy lasts for many years to come. In that spirit, the community project that he devoted so much of his time to will continue this year, whilst the results of his efforts from previous years will act as a permanent tribute to his memory. From the school he helped rebuild and refurbish in Girubuntu, to his ongoing involvement with genocide survivor charities that saw him personally sponsor two young people, Christopher has left an important legacy of his own.
Our first thoughts are with his family; Nikki, Edo, Alby and Natalia, whose loss is so great. We are determined that Christopher’s memory lives on in the place to which he devoted so much of his enthusiasm and kindness.
The Blue Blog
