As a number of top civil servants take shelter from the ‘hard rain’ Dominic Cummings has forecast for Whitehall, it’s unsurprising one feline has also taken the opportunity to announce his retirement.
It’s fair to say my friends and former colleagues who work at the Foreign Office are much sadder to see the back of Palmerston the cat than the permanent secretary, Sir Simon McDonald, who is also leaving his post, though in fairness Sir Simon probably made himself available for fewer scratches behind the ears.
The announcement has been subject to speculation for some time, with Palmerston isolating for months at a temporary home in Hampshire, which is now to become permanent. Ever the media-savvy moggy, Palmerston chose the eve of International Cat Day to announce his departure.
As a journalist and then government special adviser for much of the last decade – as well as a total cat nut – I’ve got to know the felines of Whitehall, including Palmerston, well.
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