Starmer unveils newest furry resident of Downing Street

Sir Keir Starmer has unveiled the latest furry resident of Downing Street – Prince the Siberian kitten.

A photograph of the Prime Minister alongside Prince was released on Saturday, showing the small kitten having leapt up onto the desk with his paws on Sir Keir’s paperwork.

The newest feline addition to the Starmer family came after “a long summer of negotiations” with the Prime Minister’s children, who had been keen to get a German Shepherd if they moved to No 10.

The Prime Minister told the BBC in July: “We are now getting a kitten instead of a dog.

“And this is an agreement after long negotiations – I said we’d get in the room and sort it out.”

The kitten joins Downing Street veteran feline Larry, who has been Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office since 2011.

Also resident is the other Starmer cat Jojo, a rescue that the family had before the election.

The Prime Minister revealed some of the practical difficulties of keeping pets in No 10, as installing a cat flap in the bomb-proof door of the flat was “a little bit difficult”.

“But our daughter has persuaded us that the problem isn’t any bigger for two cats than one – and therefore, we’re now getting this kitten,” he said in July.

Pets have come and gone from Downing Street with the various administrations over recent years.

Rishi Sunak had Nova, a Fox Red Labrador, while Dilyn the dog joined Boris and Carrie Johnson for their tenure in Downing Street.

Liz Truss claimed that Dilyn, an adopted Jack Russell, had caused an infestation of fleas in the No 11 flat and she spent “several weeks itching” when she moved in after them in 2022.