Larry the cat: how chief mouser 'won the nation's hearts'

Downing Street says resident pet is 'healthy' despite reports of contingency plans for his death

Larry the cat
Larry has lived in Downing Street since 2011
(Image credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Britons and possibly global leaders are breathing a sigh of relief after Downing Street dismissed reports that its chief mouser was seriously ill.

The Sun had claimed that 16-year-old tabby Larry  was in "poor health" and that government officials were "working on an emergency communications plan" to decide how to break the news when he passes away. But a government spokesperson told ITV News that the world-famous cat was "happy and healthy".

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 Sorcha Bradley is a writer at The Week and a regular on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. She worked at The Week magazine for a year and a half before taking up her current role with the digital team, where she mostly covers UK current affairs and politics. Before joining The Week, Sorcha worked at slow-news start-up Tortoise Media. She has also written for Sky News, The Sunday Times, the London Evening Standard and Grazia magazine, among other publications. She has a master’s in newspaper journalism from City, University of London, where she specialised in political journalism.