Palmerston, the rescue cat who served as chief mouser at the Foreign Office, has died in Bermuda. The cat, adopted from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, retired in 2020 after four years in Whitehall.
A post on Palmerston's X account announced his peaceful death on 12 February. It described him as a 'Diplocat extraordinaire' and a special member of the government house team in Bermuda, where he had taken up a semi-retired role as feline relations consultant to the governor.
On his retirement in 2020, a letter signed in Palmerston's name said he wanted to spend more time away from the limelight after enjoying working from home during the pandemic. The letter noted his 105,000 Twitter followers and his contribution to the UK's global effort.
Cats have long been a feature of British political life. Winston Churchill had a cat named Nelson, and Humphrey served as chief mouser under Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Tony Blair. Downing Street's current chief mouser, Larry, also from Battersea, is celebrating 15 years in the job.
