Cameron makes rare appearance in Harrogate to promote book

The former Prime Minister will headline the Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival, a four-day event which also hosts the actor and debut novelist Trevor Eve, BBC presenter Louise Minchin, News at Ten’s Tom Bradby and Countryfile’s John Craven, whose career began on a Harrogate newspaper.

The programme of 26 events includes The Yorkshire Post literary luncheon at the Crown Hotel, which will be addressed by the Falklands War veteran Simon Weston. He recovered from 46 per cent burns sustained when his troop ship was struck by an Argentinian Exocet missile.

Mr Cameron’s appearance, on the evening of October 17 at a venue yet to be announced, will be his only one outside London and Cheltenham. Tickets, at £34 including a copy of his book, For The Record, are still available.

His memoir sold more than 20,000 copies in its first week, and was described by his former Chancellor, George Osborne, as “a kind of purgatory for him, motivated by a sense of duty that prime ministers should explain why they did what they did”.

Zoe Robinson, managing partner at Raworths, the Harrogate law firm which sponsors the festival, said it had grown into “one of the best in the country”, and the event’s manager, Helen Donkin, said she was “absolutely delighted” with the line-up.

The festival begins with the literary lunch on October 17 – with novelist Sadie Jones and TV’s Yorkshire Vet and Yorkshire Post columnist Julian Norton completing the day’s line-up.

War reporter Damien Lewis, bookseller Sir Tim Waterstone and broadcaster Mark Austin are among those appearing during the following three days.

Tickets are available from www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com