Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

UK Foreign Office Cat, Lord Palmerston, Retires From Diplomatic Service

UK Foreign Office Cat, Lord Palmerston, Retires From Diplomatic Service

UK Foreign Office Cat: After four years, Lord Palmerston wishes to spend more time "relaxing away from the limelight"

The resident cat at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London, dubbed "Lord Palmerston the Chief Mouser" in reference to its mouse-catching duties, is to retire from diplomatic service, the FCO said on Friday.
Lord Palmerston, famed for regular territorial tiffs with neighbouring Downing Street mouse-catcher Larry, will see out his retirement in the English countryside, where he has been spending lockdown already at the home of a member of Foreign Office staff.

Both cats have their own social media profiles and are very popular with news photographers on Downing Street duties.

"In April 2016, a cat called Palmerston arrived from Battersea (dogs and cat shelter in London). I thought I was employing a mouser. What I got was a social media phenomenon, with 105,000 Twitter followers," said Sir Simon McDonald, the Permanent Under-Secretary and Head of the Diplomatic Service at the FCO, announcing Palmerston''s retirement.

"After four happy years, @Diplomog (Palmerston's Twitter handle) will retire: he's enjoyed lockdown life in the countryside so much, he's accepted an invitation to stay. Everyone at the Foreign Office will miss him (our mice less so). We wish him a long & happy retirement," said McDonald in a Twitter statement.


McDonald's own term as the head of FCO also comes to a close this month as the department is merged with the Department for International Development to create the new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office from September 1.

Sir Philip Barton, the current British High Commissioner to India, will be taking charge as the Permanent Under-Secretary of the new ministry.

In keeping with the light-hearted vein of the cat news from FCO, Palmerston''s Twitter account also posted a formal retirement letter addressed to McDonald.

The Foreign Office official writing as Palmerston notes that after four years, he wishes to spend more time "relaxing away from the limelight" and that he has found life away from the front line "queiter and easier".
"The spread of coronavirus around the world has caused many, like me, to begin working from home. I assure you I have been as diligent as ever... my diplomatic craft has had positive results," notes the letter.
"Although I am ending my formal role here, I will always be an ambassador for the UK and the new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office," it concludes.

Palmerston was chosen from hundreds of other rescued cats at the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in south west London to tackle errant mice at the FCO building on King Charles Street, next door to Downing Street.

"As one of our most illustrious former residents, Palmerston has been a fantastic ambassador for Battersea. During his tenure as Chief Mouser at the Foreign Office, he has perfectly demonstrated how incredible rescue cats are, as well as the joy that they can bring to people when given a second chance," said Battersea''s Head of Catteries, Lindsey Quinlan.

"We have loved following his prolific career over the past four years and we look forward to hearing about his future adventures, as he swaps international diplomacy for a life of leisure. On behalf of all the staff, cats and even the dogs at Battersea, we wish Palmerston all the very best with this next chapter of his nine lives," Quinlan said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×