Cameron denies he snubbed Obama to play tennis

London: British Prime Minister David Cameron has rejected a claim that he snubbed a phone call from US President Barack Obama to carry on a game of tennis. Cameron`s schoolfriend Charlie Brooks had claimed the prime minister had been too involved in a match at his country residence, Chequers, to speak to the US president, the News Agency reported.

Brooks, who studied at Eton with Cameron, said the pair were "pretty good friends". "I played tennis with him (Cameron) at Chequers one day. I won the first set easily, then he won the second set, and then someone came up to him and said, "Er ... Mr. Obama is on the phone for you, prime minister`. He (Cameron) said, `I think we`ve got time for a third set - tell Mr. Obama I`ll ring him back`," Brooks was quoted as saying. Cameron flatly rejected the claims, insisting he and Brooks had played tennis only once at Chequers, and official logs showed no calls from Obama at any time that weekend. Downing Street said officials always scheduled calls between the prime minister and the US president in advance, with the White House giving "15 minutes` notice" even when Obama woke Cameron up in the middle of the night to tell him Osama Bin Laden had been assassinated. "We are baffled. Charlie Brooks has been to Chequers on three occasions and there are simply no calls from President Obama logged around that time," a Downing Street source told the News agency. "It is not the case that the US president rings up on the off chance that the prime minister is free. Calls are always scheduled by officials, even when there is an international emergency," the source said. "There is an agenda and the Prime Minister prepares for the call. There has obviously been some misunderstanding because this account cannot be true." IANS