LONDON: Keir Starmer has let his children get a new kitten while they live at Downing Street, after “a long summer of negotiations” about a dog, the British prime minister has revealed, reported German news agency (dpa).
A “Siberian kitten” will be the family’s new pet, Starmer revealed in a BBC 5 Live interview.
The prime minister was asked for an update on remarks he made during the summer general election campaign that his children were lobbying him to get a German shepherd dog.
“Well, those negotiations have been going on. There’s been a long summer of negotiations, back and forth, different options,“ he replied.
“But now, we’ve gone for – and this is an agreed after long negotiations, I said we’d get in the room and sort it out – we are now getting a kitten instead of a dog.”
He later added: “This is a Siberian kitten, which is being picked up today by my daughter and so that’s where it ended up.”
Downing Street’s resident mouser, Larry the Cat, has become something of a celebrity figure over the last decade, often appearing in the street amid important political moments.
Keir and his family moved into No. 10 Downing Street with their own family rescue cat, named JoJo.
Asked what the reaction had been from Larry to the news of a second new addition to Downing Street’s feline population, the prime minister revealed the problems of living with pets in the high-security environs of No. 10.
“The problem we’ve got, which is the same for JoJo the cat, is that the only door out of our new flat is bomb proof,“ he said.
Starmer added: “Therefore, getting a cat flapping it is proving a little bit difficult. But our daughters persuaded us that the problem isn’t any bigger for two cats than one. And therefore, we’re now getting this kitten.”
