It has to be possible to be both a good prime minister and father

When he became Prime Minister, David Cameron ordered his aides to “ringfence” time in his diary for him to spend with his family.

Yesterday, he defended his attempts to lead a "normal life" as he dismissed claims he does not work hard enough, saying he is normally at his kitchen table at 5.45am, going through his official papers.

The Prime Minister told BBC Radio 4: "If you are completely fried and exhausted and have no time for your family and never go for a jog or play a game of tennis... you will get into a situation where you make very bad judgments because you are exhausted and stressed."

Mr Cameron said: "It has to be possible to be a decent husband and a good father and a good prime minister at the same time. If it isn't possible, then there is something wrong."

He added: "Spending some time with your wife because you love each other, and you want to cook dinner for each other or go out to dinner with each other – that to me is a date night, and that is a lovely thing to do." But he admitted that his goal of taking his children to school once a week sometimes becomes once a fortnight or even once a month.

Mr Cameron added: "The point is, this is an extraordinary job. You work extraordinarily hard. Ask anyone who works with me, and they will tell you I work hard."