I'm not a neo-con, declares Cameron

David Cameron will use a high-profile speech today, the fifth anniversary of the September 11 atrocities, to declare that he is not a "neo-conservative" on foreign policy.

In comments likely to be seen as an attempt to distance himself from the approach of George Bush, the Tory leader will warn that the concepts of humility and patience have been missing from the foreign policy of recent years, which has relied on a "simplistic" view of a world divided into light and darkness.

But he will issue a strong warning against anti-Americanism, denouncing it as an "intellectual and moral surrender".

The instinctive friendship which he and his party feel towards America gives them the confidence to speak freely to its leaders, he will say.

Neo-conservatism is the political philosophy most closely linked with the Bush administration, with its conviction that the overwhelming force of American military might should be used to spread values like democracy and free markets.

According to The Times, Mr Cameron will warn that the "glamorous and exciting" soundbites used in the "war against terror" since September 11 have been "unrealistic and simplistic".

"They represented a view which sees only light and darkness in the world and which believes that one can be turned to the other as simply as flicking a switch," he will say.