BB Derek comes out for Cam

The Conservative party leader election has all but been decided after an influential Tory came out in support of one of the candidates.

17:13 07 October 2005

The Conservative party leader election has all but been decided after an influential Tory came out in support of one of the candidates.

David Cameron must be absolutely thrilled to hear that he has a new man on his side, although when he finds out the man in question is a former Big Brother housemate he may not be so delighted.

Derek Laud, the ex-Tory speechwriter who reached the latter stages of this year's competition, thinks Cameron is the man with the most - because of his appeal to women no less.

"Good looks are very important and David Cameron is very attractive," the camp contestant said of the youngest of the five would-be Tory leaders.

Cameron this week said he wanted to attract a whole new generation to the Conservative party.

And Derek thinks the way to do this is for the party to take a look at the Big Brother house and his own success in it, which he said was down to him "being real".

"The problem that the Conservative party has had for some time is that it has not appeared to be authentic, that the body language does not appear to support what they say," he added at a Countryside Alliance fringe meeting about the power of minorities.

Derek feels he is more than qualified to make such a speech, being gay, black, a fox hunter and a Conservative.