David Cameron reveals the moment he was tucked up in bed by Obama and Berlusconi's comment which stunned world leaders
David Cameron has revealed he was tucked up in bed by Barack Obama during his time as prime minister, as he offered intriguing insights into his time with other world leaders during an interview with ITV.
The Cameron Interview airs at 8pm on Monday, with the former PM giving his first in depth television interview about his time in office, saying he "does have regrets" over what has happened since the EU referendum, but holding the vote was the right thing to do.
In addition to what will feature in that programme, the former PM told ITV's Tom Bradby about the unusual bedtime story which happened onboard the president's aircraft, Air Force One
After watching a basketball game together, the pair boarded the plane, where Mr Obama noticed how tired his British counterpart was.
“It was 12 o’clock at night in the United States, so sort of 4 or 5 in the morning in the UK and he said, ‘you’re looking a bit exhausted, why don’t you go and lay down in my bed?’”
Mr Cameron said “thank you very much” and went to Mr Obama’s bedroom and there was “this rather surreal scene as he tucked me up”.
Mr Cameron went on: “As he did it, he said, ‘I bet, erm, President Roosevelt never did this for Winston Churchill’.”
Cameron on Silvio Berlusconi
Another unusual moment during Cameron’s time in office happened at a European summit at 2am when then-Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi pressed the button on his microphone to speak.
Mr Cameron says that at the time he “didn’t understand” how the Italian had been so successful because he would “make the most extraordinary interventions”.
What followed, Mr Cameron says, was no different.
“He pushed the button on the microphone in front of him at sort of 2 o’clock in the morning and said, ‘if these meetings are gonna be going on so long, you should all do what I’ve done and take a mistress in Brussels’.”
He says there was a very long silence among the other EU leaders and “no one knew where to look”.
Cameron on Vladimir Putin
Despite “all the historical difficulties and current difficulties” between Russia and the UK, Mr Cameron says he “tried to form a relationship” with President Vladimir Putin.
He says he enjoyed trying to build ties and claimed he understood Mr Putin “quite well”, but says their budding relationship “in the end the relationship completely broke down”.
He said a high point in the relationship was “getting him to Downing Street” and having Mr Putin give medals to World War II veterans.
“I’d never seen him prouder or happier or more comfortable to be with a British prime minister,” Mr Cameron said.
Eventually, however, the relationship “floundered because of Ukraine, because of Syria, because of the things he was doing”.
The Cameron Interview is on the ITV Hub