Downing Street officials have reportedly drawn up plans for when ‘chief mouser’ at Number 10, Larry the cat dies.
Possibly the UK’s most famous feline, Larry has reached the ripe old age of 17, which for a cat is very much the twilight years.
Therefore, preparations – codenamed Larry Bridges – are quietly being put in place for when he passes away, reports The Times.
The name is a nod to the code used for preparing what would happen when Elizabeth II died. ‘Bridge’ comes from ‘London Bridge is falling down’.
Larry’s plans apparently focus on how the news of his death will be announced.
Larry, who it’s believed is currently healthy, has been a regular fixture at Number 10 since he was adopted from Battersea Cats and Dogs Home in 2011 as a pet for then prime minister David Cameron’s family.
He remained at the address after Mr Cameron moved on and has since seen the arrival of five more prime ministers, Boris Johnson, Theresa May, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and most recently, Sir Keir Starmer.
We don’t know whether he has a favourite leader, but we don’t think it was Britain’s shortest serving PM, Ms Truss.
A video caught him giving the former Tory leader the cold shoulder as she tried to introduce him to Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen.
Larry’s official role is described as ‘inspecting security defences and testing antique furniture for napping quality’, as well as ‘contemplating a solution to the mouse occupancy of the house’.
The tabby hasn’t just seen several politicians come and go, he’s had to contend with the odd fellow cat, which hasn’t always gone smoothly.
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He had a long-standing feud with the Foreign Offices’s cat Palmerston, who retired in 2019.
And police had to break up a fight between Larry and then chancellor George Osbourne’s cat Freya.
It’s not clear how well he gets on with current cat in residence, Sir Keir’s Jojo.
The Labour Prime Minister has previously spoken of his fondness for Jojo, who the family got from a rescue centre, even joking that the cat ‘is treated with far more respect in our household than I am’.
In response to speculation around operation Larry Bridges, his parody account on X (@Number10Cat), which has almost 900,000 followers, posted: ‘Plans are being made for how to announce my passing when that sad day comes.
‘My wish is to be stuffed and placed above a fireplace in Downing Street as a constant reminder that the inhabitants shouldn’t do anything stupid.’
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