MYSTERY continued to surround the death of a top Tory official last night, as it was revealed his body may have lain undiscovered for up to 10 hours.

Christopher Shale, 56, a close friend of David Cameron, was discovered slumped in a cubicle at Glastonbury Festival on Sunday.

A pathologist was yesterday unable to determine how the chairman of West Oxfordshire Conservative Association had died, an inquest heard.

One of the last people to have spoken to the Conservative chief before he died, told the Oxford Mail of his shock at the tragedy.

Richard Langridge, one of two deputies at the Conservative Association, talked to Mr Shale shortly before he went missing. He explained: “We are shocked and saddened.

“Christopher was a man of huge intelligence, had a fantastic sense of humour and boundless enthusiasm for what he was doing.”

He said he had spoken to Mr Shale on the phone to warn him of an article the Mail on Sunday was about to run. The article quoted Mr Shale as saying there was “no reason to join” the Conservative party.

Mr Langridge said: “He was a little irritated but he was absolutely fine.”

Mr Cameron, MP for Witney, led tributes in the House of Commons yesterday. He said: “Some people say that in politics there are no real friendships – I think that is completely untrue.

“I think many of us in this house become extremely close to people who work very hard in our constituencies to help us.

“Christopher was one of those people and will be missed by me and my family and many, many people in West Oxfordshire.”

Barry Norton, leader of West Oxfordshire District Council, who had also spoken to Mr Shale on Saturday, said: “Christopher has been a longstanding, loyal member and supporter of the Conservative Party and an enthusiastic and hard working chairman of the association in the Witney constituency. He will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him and worked with him.”

Mr Shale was reported as missing by worried family members at the 900-acre festival site in Somerset on Saturday.

Yesterday’s inquest, which lasted just a few minutes, was opened and adjourned by East Somerset Coroner Tony Williams. The hearing heard that Mr Shale was declared dead at 9.17am on Sunday by an emergency care practitioner.

Coroner’s officer Ben Batley told the inquest that a post mortem examination was carried out on Sunday and the preliminary cause of death was “unascertained”.

Ongoing inverstigation suggested the death was not suicide.

witney@oxfordmail.co.uk