Charles with Birmingham City FC Chief Executive Karren Brady and David Cameron

David Cameron has been in the West Midlands today meeting business leaders, including Karren Brady, perhaps Britain's most inspiring woman in business. Karren was the youngest director of a major football club at Birmingham City FC, and combines that now with directorships at Mothercare, Channel Four and Next. Karren and David had first met in October 2005 when I arranged for her to introduce him to party members at the launch of his leadership election campaign which we held in Birmingham.

Reaching out beyond the Conservative Party's traditional heartlands, David met 150 leading members of the Chinese business community at lunchtime. He made it abundantly clear how much the contribution that they make to the British way of life is valued. A city like Birmingham, filled with a wealth of culture and languages, has such a a key competitive advantage in the skills that the new communities here bring. With the growth of the economies in China and the Indian subcontinent, the challenge for Britain is to seize the opportunity that its cohesive community holds in global languages which gives us such an edge over so many of our competitors.

This evening David is speaking to the West Midlands CBI Annual Dinner.