Bubbly curb day 2: Now David Cameron is seen champagne glass in hand

Champagne flowed as the parties got under way at the Conservative conference last night.

Partygoers drank Lanson in the lobby of the Midland Hotel, and David Cameron faced embarrassment after being pictured with a glass of champagne in his hand at a party on the eve of shadow chancellor George Osborne's austerity speech.

Tory sources said chairman Eric Pickles's guidance that the conference should be "less champagne bubbles and more bubbling activity" was not an all-out ban on relaxing.