David Cameron has tried to justify his visit to Rwanda while his constituents struggle with the floods.

The Conservative party leader insisted he is in touch with his local council in Oxfordshire by telephone and aware of the seriousness of the situation.

The Conservative leader has been trying to push international development up the Tory agenda and said he had no doubts about the direction in which he was taking the party.

He said: "This is the time for the Conservative Party to stick absolutely to a very clear plan we have set out."

Meanwhile, former Conservative treasurer Lord Kalms has urged Mr Cameron to pay more attention to traditional Tories.

The Tory leader said his party had a "mission" to "heal Britain's broken society".

He added: "We all need to work together as a really strong team.

"It's not the time to retreat into the hinterland and look backwards.

"We have absolutely the right approach and we know it works, so let's go forward."

His comments came after Lord Kalms complained that Mr Cameron's policies, particularly in areas like taxation and the need for smaller government, was leaving many Tories "extremely uncomfortable".

The peer, formerly a major donor to the Conservative Party, said: "I'm certainly willing to give him 100 per cent support and hope he will lead the party in the next election.

"But, nevertheless, between now and then, a lot more work has got to be done, particularly to reassure us that he has policies that are satisfactory to the Conservative Party, the traditional Conservative Party, and to the electorate in general.

"I'm hardly in a position to put him on notice, I'm not his boss, I'm a friend.

"I'm just sending warning signals from the back ranks: 'Look, chum, we need to do some rethinking'."

Mr Cameron's aides played down the significance of Lord Kalms' criticism, stressing that he had not donated to the party for about five years.

But it follows criticism of the leadership's handling of the Ealing Southall by-election, in which the party slumped to third place, and the reported demands of up to six Tory MPs for a vote of confidence.