David Cameron accused of debauchery in Lord Ashcroft's explosive biography Call Me Dave
A major Conservative donor has accused David Cameron of being part of a debauched Oxford University dining society and being present at events where drugs were taken.
Billionaire peer Lord Ashcroft, who fell out with the Prime Minister after he missed out on a role in Government, makes the allegations in a biography of Mr Cameron entitled Call Me Dave.
The Daily Mail, which is serialising the book ahead of its release next month, reports it makes a number of damaging claims about Mr Cameron in his life before gaining power.
The newspaper says the book also brings into question the Conservative's account of when Mr Cameron first found out about Lord Ashcroft's "non-dom" tax status, which allowed the party's former deputy chairman to avoid tax on overseas earnings.
The book contradicts the Tory claim that Mr Cameron had only known about the non-dom matter for a month when it became public knowledge in 2010, with Lord Ashcroft claiming he first spoke to Mr Cameron about the issue in 2009.
Lord Ashcroft, who has given around £8 million to the Tories, later gave up his non-dom position in order to retain his place on the Conservative benches in the Lords.
In the book, Lord Ashcroft admits to feeling disappointment with the Prime Minister over his failure to offer him a significant position in government in 2010.
He claimed Mr Cameron initially blamed his Liberal Democrat coalition partners for blocking his appointment, before offering him a junior role at the Foreign Office which the peer judged to be "declinable".
"It would have been better had Cameron offered me nothing at all," he wrote.
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron told Sky News the allegations against the Prime Minister were "extraordinary" but added they were "a bit of a sideshow".
He said: "The reality is we respect people's right to a private life and a past. The critical thing in all of this is that those of us who are in politics mustn't be hypocrites."
An Oxford contemporary who has also written about Mr Cameron’s university days says he has his doubts about claims of debauchery.
Toby Young said: “I spoke to one of the founders of the Piers Gaveston Society and he said there is no initiation rite to become a member. It’s just bunch of mates getting together to throw parties. The whole thing just doesn’t stack up.”
Lord Ashcroft went on to write a highly-critical report on Mr Cameron's handling of the 2010 election campaign and eventually retired his parliamentary seat before this year's general election.
The Mail claims he and the book's co-author, former Times journalist Isabel Oakeshott," employed a team of researchers and travelled the world to discover the full story behind Britain's youngest PM for 200 years".
Downing Street has declined to comment on its contents, which threaten to cast a shadow over the Conservatives' upcoming annual conference in Manchester, while Chancellor George Osborne said, "I haven't seen that book."