UK prime minister leaves daughter in pub

[June 11, 2012]  LONDON (AP) -- It's every parent's nightmare -- get home and realize a child is missing.

British Prime Minister David Cameron's office confirmed Monday that he accidentally left his 8-year-old daughter Nancy in a country pub after a family Sunday lunch.

Officials said the incident happened "a couple of months ago," as the family was leaving the pub near Chequers, a country house prime ministers use while in office, west of London.

Nancy had gone to the bathroom while Cameron and the rest of the family piled into two cars to drive back to the house.

Cameron was traveling in one car with his bodyguards and assumed that she was in the other car with his wife, Samantha, and two other children. Samantha assumed Nancy was with her father, and they only realized she was missing when they got home.

In a statement, Cameron's Downing Street office said "the prime minister and Samantha were distraught when they realized Nancy wasn't with them. Thankfully when they phoned the pub she was there safe and well."

Nancy was separated from her parents for around 15 minutes until Cameron arrived to collect her from The Plough in the village of Cadsden, officials said.

Sunday pub lunches are have long been traditional in Britain, with fare often including roast beef, potatoes, and salad along with red wine, beer or ale.

[Associated Press; By MEERA SELVA]

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