Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office
The Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office ( German as " Supreme Mouse Hunters of the Cabinet " ) is the title of the domestic cat by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at Downing Street No. 10, only two cats, Humphrey and Larry, the title received official, some cats received the title as a term of endearment in most cases only by the British press.
History
The "office" of Chief Mouser's occupied since the reign of Henry VIII, Cardinal Wolsey for his cat placed next to him while he performed his official duties as Lord Chancellor. Official documents, which were published on 4 January 2005 under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, are only up to June 3, 1929 back when AE Banham authorized the Treasury, " for the keeping of an efficient cat " one penny sterling per day spend out of petty cash. In April 1932, the weekly budget was increased to 1 shilling 6 pence. In the 21st century, the mice hunters will cost £ 100 per year.
Since the cats are civil servants, they do not belong to the acting Prime Minister and it is rare that the terms of office of Prime Minister and Chief Mouser are congruent. The cat with the longest tenure in Downing Street was Wilberforce who served under Edward Heath, Harold Wilson, Jim Callaghan and Margaret Thatcher. Since 14 February 2011, the post of Larry is busy. The end of the term of office of the last holder Sybil was in January 2009. Sybil, who took office on 11 September 2007, the first cat was for ten years after the official end of her predecessor Humphrey in 1997. Sybil was the then Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, who at that time, however, lived in No. 10 Downing Street, during the then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, resided in the greater Downing Street No. 11. It is reported that Sybil did not remain in London, but returned to Scotland to live with friends of the Darling family. Sybil died on July 27, 2009.
In January 2011, repeated scurrying rats have been spotted on the steps of Number 10 Downing Street during television broadcasts of the station ITN. Although there was no incumbent Chief Mouser at that time, was the press secretary to the Prime Minister announced that there were no plans to commission a cat with the solution of the problem. Still, as newspapers reported the following day, admit it, according to the press secretary a "pro -cat faction " ( "Pro - Cat Group " ) in Downing Street, so that the rumors about the imminent appointment of a new Chief Mouser item further fueled were. On 14 February 2011 it was reported that a cat named Larry had been called to tackle the problem. The Evening Standard reported that the cat by David Cameron and his family was chosen. They came from the animal shelter Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.
On September 16, 2012, reported that Prime Minister Cameron Larry dismissed and instead have Cats of Chancellor of the Exchequer Osborne, Freya, was appointed as the new Chief Mouser. Some source to the contrary by a "division of labor " of the two cats to leave no hurt feelings. Larry is still the only Chief Mouser, the. Visit the official website of Downing Street Is called 10.