Cameron celebrates birth of daughter on holiday

The Prime Minister pronounced himself "absolutely thrilled" after his wife Samantha gave birth to their fourth child at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro during his family's week-long summer holiday.

Mr Cameron admitted the timing had come as "a bit of a shock", with the baby not having been due until later next month.

He said Mrs Cameron had been having contractions "on and off" for the past couple of days, and eventually went into hospital yesterday morning before giving birth by Caesarian section at around 12pm.

Both mother and baby – who weighed in at just 6lb 1oz – remained in hospital last night, and were said to be "doing fine".

The Camerons have yet to decide on a name for their new daughter but the Prime Minister suggested it would "have to have something Cornish in the middle".

He told reporters outside the hospital: "It was very exciting. We were on holiday, thought we were going to get through the holiday and then have a baby, and then it just seemed to kick off a bit quickly.

"We're absolutely thrilled. She is an unbelievably beautiful girl, and I'm a very proud dad."

Mr Cameron's daughter will take her place in history as only the third baby born to a serving Prime Minister since 1849.

He said his other two children, six-year-old Nancy and Arthur, four, were"bouncing up and down" with excitement at the prospect of meeting their new sister.

In February last year the Camerons were rocked by tragedy, with the death of their profoundly disabled son Ivan.