Larry the cat will not be evicted from Downing Street when the keys to No 10 are handed over to Theresa May, the Cabinet Office has confirmed.

The brown and white tabby has been deemed to be a civil servant’s cat and will not have to leave along with the Camerons.

Larry, who is the latest in a series of distinguished Whitehall cats, was brought to No 10 from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in 2011.

He was thought to have the qualities needed to keep the Downing Street rodent population down after a rat was seen scuttling past No 10.