Former Prime Minister David Cameron opens up the death of his son Ivan

David Cameron has opened up about losing his son, who suffered from cerebral palsy and epilepsy, at age six.

Ivan sadly passed away in February 2009, as a result of the extremely rare Ohtahara syndrome - which has no known cause or treatment.

Now the former PM has opened up about the painful loss, saying how nothing could have prepared him for losing his son.

In an extract of his memoir, For the Record, published by The Times, the politician wrote: 'Nothing, absolutely nothing, can prepare you for the reality of losing your darling boy this way.

‘A world in which things had always gone right for me suddenly gave me an immense shock and challenge.’

Speaking of how his wife Samantha handled the incredibly difficult situation, he added: ‘While I think of ways in which I failed, I cannot think of a single way Samantha did.

‘I still marvel when I think of how she managed and cared and loved and coped, not just with Ivan but with the rest of our growing family.’

Samantha - who shares Florence, Nancy and Arthur with husband David - has also opened up about their loss back in 2017, in an emotional interview with The Times.

‘Ive dying is such a massive thing that everything else is irrelevant’ she said.

‘It just overshadows everything. What goes on in the outside world becomes meaningless.

‘From the moment he is born, you are living in a situation that is quite surreal and difficult to deal with.

‘It is intense every day, in and out of hospitals… in a way, that prepared me for Dave being prime minister, because I was used to living and operating in a way that’s not normal’, she added.

She also revealed that the family had no choice but getting on with their routine to cope with their loss, so they wouldn’t ‘fall apart completely’.

‘Like anyone else in my situation, I just kept going. You have to deal with it, because you have no choice.’