The Conservative leadership hopeful will use his first major foreign policy speech to urge Britain not to agree to an early withdrawal from Iraq or back major concessions by Israel in the Middle East, likening weakness in the face of extremism to the appeasement of Hitler in the 1930s.
His message was a direct counter to his rival David Davis, who has traded on his tough image as shadow Home Secretary, and came as his supporters ruled out any prospect of a “dream ticket” deal with the former chancellor Kenneth Clarke.The former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine backed a Clarke-Cameron leadership alliance, arguing that Mr Cameron would benefit from working alongside “the most popular Conservative around at the moment”. On Monday Mr Clarke renewed speculation about his leadership ambitions by confessing he was mistaken in his backing for the euro.But Mr Cameron’s supporters dismissed the overture, claiming Mr Clarke would be eliminated from the race before the final run-off. They believe around 25 of Mr Clarke’s backers in the parliamentary party will ultimately switch their support to Mr Cameron.Mr Cameron will say today: “If only, some argue, we withdraw from Iraq, or Israel made massive concessions, then we would assuage jihadist anger. That argument, often advanced by well-meaning people, is as limited as the belief in the Thirties that by allowing Germany to remilitarise the Rhineland or take over the Sudetenland, we would satisfy Nazi ambitions.”As we discovered in the 1930s, a willingness to cede ground and duck confrontation is interpreted as a fatal weakness. They produce about 70,000 bottles a year which they sell all over the world but mainly to England, the US, Germany and France. The couple employ one local French helper all the year round and about 20 casual grape pickers – mainly students – for the annual harvest.But the couple confess to mixed feelings.

“The region has changed a lot since we’ve been here,” says Robert. “The trend has been away from bulk production and towards better-quality wines. That might be good news for the end-consumer but, as far as we’re concerned, we’re facing too much competition from the huge surge in the number of independent winemakers starting up.”"If we could turn back the clock, I think a vineyard in Champagne might have been more sensible,” says Kim. Recently, though, wine in the region has been improving again due to the decline of the cooperatives and their replacement by a new wave of more discerning independent winemakers like Robert and Kim.The Domaine du Poujol had always been an independent vineyard. However, the Cripps planted a lot of new vines and introduced more stringent quality-control. They now grow a total of 11 grape varieties, five of which are controlled under the Couteaux du Languedoc appellation while the others are vins du pays that are less strictly regulated and allow the couple more scope for experimentation.Robert tends to concentrate on the grapes, while Kim handles the marketing and distribution side. The rear wall of the living room on the first floor is glass block tiles, and with three sash windows at the front, which still have the original glass, the room is very light, but cool.

I also put down new floors, as the old ones were a bit wonky and had to be straightened out, and knocked down the little bathroom at the top, so I could make the whole of that floor into my bedroom. Lots of people have criticised me for only putting in one bedroom, but I think it’s better to have the rooms that you want. If I have guests to stay, they sleep on the sofa.The bedroom is the most feminine room in the house. I had to find a mortgage in two weeks, as it was going up for auction, but I managed to get one in place just in time and bought it just before the auction went ahead.It had been an art worker’s studio downstairs, with a flat upstairs that had been rented out, so it was a bit shabby But I love the area because it’s quite villagey. We all know each other and go to the same bars and restaurants. It has a nice, friendly atmosphere and at the weekend it’s completely quiet, because there are no business people around. You can walk to everywhere – Oxford Street, St Paul’s and over to the Tate Gallery, all within 15 minutes.When I made the first alterations to the house eight years ago, I took out the old staircase and moved it to make the rooms bigger, and built on the extension at the back.