David Cameron today returned to work as leader of the opposition following the death of his son Ivan 13 days ago.

The Witney MP was said by a spokesman to be “throwing himself back into his work” after attending a private funeral for Ivan, who was severely disabled, at St Nicholas Church in Chadlington last week.

Mr Cameron kicked off his day by chairing a 9.15am meeting at Conservative Campaign Headquarters in London, which was due to be followed by discussions with former Conservative Party chancellors, a session of the shadow cabinet, and “various other meetings”, including one to prepare him for Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) later today.

The weekly half-hour sparring session, which is likely to be a slightly more subdued event than normal, will be Mr Cameron’s first since Ivan’s death, following Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s absence from the Commons last week as he visited President Obama in Washington DC.

Mr Cameron’s spokesman said it was possible the Tory leader would make a televised statement on the situation in Northern Ireland, where there have been three murders in recent days, shaking the peace process.

But he added that it was unlikely he would say anything about Ivan until later in the week.

On Friday, Mr Cameron is due to travel to Birmingham for a speech to the city’s Chamber of Commerce.

A spokesman said he had not yet decided whether he would be spending the weekend at his home in Dean or in London. His next event in Oxfordshire will be his constituency surgery on Friday, March 20.

Ivan, who suffered from Ohtahara Syndrome, a rare epilepsy condition accompanied by severe cerebral palsy, was taken ill overnight on Tuesday, February 24, and died the following morning shortly after arriving at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London.

His parents, who described him as their “beautiful boy”, were with him when he died.