UK’s Foreign Office Cat Accused of Being an European Union Spy

The cat was named “chief mouser” as it was helping to catch the mice in the office.

The cat caught three mice in its first six weeks. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Britain’s Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond issued denial after his own Conservative Party colleague claimed the cat at the UK’s Foreign Office could be a European Union (EU) spy.

Palmerston, the cat adopted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, had been recently announced as the “chief mouser” to help tackle the problem of mice in the building in central London. A member of the camp favouring Britain staying in EU told the House of Commons that the cat might be a spy.

He asked if Palmerston had been vetted by the security service and scanned for bugs by GCHQ. The Foreign Secretary assured him and the House that the cat has a 100 per cent attendance record and is definitely not a mole. He has satisfactorily caught three mice in his first six weeks.

(With inputs from PTI.)