Boris Johnson claims Larry the cat is ‘thug’ who beat up his dog Dilyn

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Boris Johnson has claimed that Larry the cat is “a bit of a thug” who “mauled” his dog Dilyn.

The former prime minister said Larry “takes a dim view” of anyone trying to steal his food, and Dilyn repeatedly fell foul of the infamous Downing Street mouser.

“The reprisals were terrible,” Mr Johnson added.

In his latest Daily Mail column, the ex-PM set out answers to the questions he has been asked since leaving office that “come up again and again”.

Chief among them is what the late Queen was “really like”, followed by questions about Larry, Mr Johnson said.

He added: “Larry, in my view, is a bit of a thug. I say this because our dog Dilyn went a few times to Larry’s lair, and Larry being out at the time Dilyn decided — entirely naturally and reasonably — to eat his food. The reprisals were terrible.

“If you look closely at Larry, you can see that he is constructed like a sumo wrestler. He also has the talons of a velociraptor, and he is one of those cats who not only likes his food but also takes a dim view of anyone else who tries to scoff it.

“Have you ever reached out idly in a pub to take a chip from someone else’s plate, and found yourself unexpectedly stabbed in the hand by a fork? That is the kind of reaction that Dilyn provoked from the Downing Street mouser.

“The poor dog was quite badly mauled.”

Mr Johnson went on to say Dilyn became “terrified” of Larry and would avoid “anywhere he might come across Catzilla”.

“If legions of Larry fans are shocked by this portrait of the famous feline — well, I think the public have a right to know the truth,” he added.

Larry has also been accused of beating up Rishi Sunak’s labrador, Nova. The current PM’s wife Akshata Murty said the Downing Street cat “does not get on” with Nova and has had “heated exchanges” with the dog. “Larry’s come out on top," the businesswoman said.

Larry entered Downing Street on 15 February 2011 under David Cameron, who recruited the cat to deal with a pack of rats.

The former stray, adopted from London’s Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, was given the title Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, an unofficial pest control post. He was the first cat to hold the rat-catching portfolio since the retirement of Humphrey in 1997, and has loyally served five prime ministers.

Mr Johnson went on to say the third most common question is whether aliens exist.

The now former MP, who is paid a reported £1m for his weekly Daily Mail column, said there is “no evidence whatsoever” of the existence of extraterrestrial species.

“That does not mean, of course, that they do not exist,” Mr Johnson said.