Downing Street officials are reportedly planning how to announce the eventual passing of Larry, the No 10 chief mouser.
The 17-year-old tabby, while currently healthy, is in his twilight years.
Larry has become a fixture of Downing Street, known for his patrols of the grounds and occasional confrontations with local wildlife. His encounters with Palmerston, the Foreign Office cat, have often made headlines.
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He has also outlasted five prime ministers and famously refused Liz Truss the chance to stroke him.
But although Larry can count himself among the more popular residents of the street in recent years his demise will happen at some point and officials are now preparing.
In a similar manner to how insiders had a code for when the Queen passed away, there is set to be an official way that the cat’s death will be broken to the nation.
According to The Times, officials will say “Larry bridges” when the cat passes - a reference to ‘London Bridge is falling down’, the code for when Elizabeth II died.
Does the position of Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office transfer to the heir apparent instantaneously or does it require a meeting of the Accession Council? It’s important to get these things right.
These are the kind of things that I imagine are giving constructional experts sleepless nights at the moment.
Just hypothetically, and I don’t want to get anyone riled up, but could Starmer get a dog in as a replacement?
Technically, yes, as long as the dog’s not a papist.
So, no St. Bernards and I suspect capuchin monkeys are out.
Mods this comment is inciting violence /s