David Cameron's relaxation secrets revealed

Game, set and match? The Prime Minister does not like to make a racket, according to a new book Credit: Chris Radburn/PA Wire

The MP for Witney in Oxfordshire, David Cameron, has the ability to "switch off" from the pressures of high politics in a way that almost no other MP can, according to a new biography of the Prime Minister.

The Conservative leader's ability to unwind and relax away from Whitehall is a key part of how he copes with the strains of the top job, the book says.

In a snapshot of Mr Cameron's personal life, it reveals how he soothes the strenuous rigours of running the country by playing tennis against a machine nicknamed "the Clegger" and having a few glasses of wine with Sunday lunch.

The Prime Minister also enjoys a game of snooker while relaxing at the countryside retreat of Chequers and even has fun on his family's karaoke machine, according to Cameron: Practically a Conservative, which is being serialised in The Times.

The book, written by journalists Frances Elliott and James Hanning, quotes an ally of Mr Cameron as saying: "If there was an Olympic gold medal for 'chillaxing', the Prime Minister would win it.

"He is capable of switching off in a way that almost no other politician I know of can."

Describing Mr Cameron's Sunday routine, the biography reveals how he checks the morning papers and internet and deals with any work-related queries before relaxing either in front of the television, on the vegetable patch, on the tennis court or with his children.

"He doesn't got back to obsessively checking the computer or rewriting the speech," the book says.

Other revelations include claims that Mr Cameron has an "almost obsessive interest in the raw data of politics" and is a frequent visitor to political betting websites to keep up to date with the latest debates on polling methodology.

Labour backbencher John Mann said: "People across the country will be concerned that while Britain was heading for a recession made in Downing Street, David Cameron was concentrating on 'chillaxing'."The Prime Minister should be totally focused on a plan for jobs and growth rather than playing computer games on his iPad."