A new book reveals how cats have overseen many significant political moments of the last two centuries.

As Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office but also a worldwide celebrity, Larry the Cat gets more headlines than most Cabinet ministers.

His scraps with the feisty Foreign Office cat Palmerston have also rivalled the bickering between the "three Brexiteers", Boris Johnson, David Davis and Liam Fox.

But now it has been revealed that Prime Ministerial cats are nothing new: Winston Churchill, Neville Chamberlain and Harold Wilson all kept a feline friend in Downing Street.

In fact, it has been disclosed that cats have been employed to rid Government buildings of mice for 200 years and the Treasury has been paying for their upkeep since the 1930s.


The tabby tales are contained in a new book, "Larry, the Chief Mouser: And Other Official Cats", by Chistopher Day of the National Archives, and reported in The Daily Telegraph.

And the book reveals that the fur has been flying in Downing Street since long before Larry and Palmerston. Churchill and Chamberlain's cats fought and Wilson's wife Mary was once scratched in a cat fight.

Larry is now so famous that he has published his own diaries (with help from author James Robinson), had his own picture gallery and newspaper cartoon and was mentioned by David Cameron in his resignation speech.

Image: Larry and Palmerston do battle

Another recent famous Downing Street cat, Humphrey, was John Major's Chief Mouser from 1989 until 1997, when he was removed from Downing Street amid claims that Tony Blair's wife Cherie wanted him out.

But the new book, based on official archives, goes back much further into the history of political pets and feline feuds in Downing Street.

It reveals that before becoming Prime Minister Winston Churchill adopted a black stray cat, Nelson, who attracted his attention when he was spotted chasing a "huge dog" away. Sir Winston is reported to have said: "Nelson is the bravest cat I ever knew. I decided to adopt him and name him after our great Admiral."

When Churchill succeeded Chamberlain as Prime Minister in 1940, Nelson was expected to follow him into Number 10. But Chamberlain already had a cat, dismissively nicknamed "The Munich Mouser" by Sir Winston after the supposed peace deal signed by his owner.

The book reveals that even during the war the rivalry between the two cats, just like the often scratchy relationship between Larry and Palmerston these days, made news worldwide.

Under a headline "Downing St. Cats Create Problem of Feline Protocol" on June 7 1940, the Washington Post claimed: "Nelson will follow his master shortly to Downing Street and make a problem of protocol.

"How, it is asked, will the Munich cat react to Nelson? Will he follow Chamberlain next door to his new home at No 11 leaving the field at No 10 to Nelson? Or will he refuse to abdicate and call for a show-down in His Majesty's court of justice?"

In the end, Nelson triumphed, the Munich Mouser was chased out of Number 10 and Nelson moved in alone, the book reports.

And as Churchill plotted the defeat of the Nazis during meetings of the War Cabinet, it is claimed Nelson would sit close by and keep his master warm. One account claims Sir Winston told a colleague Nelson "was doing more than he was for the war effort, since Nelson served as a prime ministerial hot water bottle".

Image: Larry, the Downing Street cat, glances across at Theresa May's shoes

After 200 years of feline supremacy in Whitehall, suddenly Downing Street is a feline fiefdom no longer.

Suddenly, Chancellor Philip Hammond's Welsh Terrier, Rex, and his wire-haired dachshund, Oscar, are strutting their stuff as top dogs in Downing Street.

Mr Hammond says he keeps the dogs apart from Larry, in case they scrap. As far as we know, Churchill's Nelson never had to contend with terriers next door.