Ex-Foreign Office cat starts job in Bermuda

Palmerston, the former resident cat at the Foreign Office, has a been brought out of retirement for a new overseas diplomatic posting nearly 3,500 miles away in Bermuda.

A post on Palmerston's X account, announced the black and white rescue cat - who served as the chief mouser Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) between 2016-2020 - had moved to the British Overseas Territory as "feline relations consultant".

Palmerston's account claimed he had been "lured out of retirement" by "diplomacy and a purr-fect role" with Bermuda's new governor, Andrew Murdoch.

Murdoch, a contemporary of Palmerston at the Foreign Office, has owned the famous cat since his retirement.

In a post on the official FCDO Flikr, it said its "first feline diplomat" would "attend only the meetings he deems important, offering advice when necessary and indulging in well-earned naps".

Palmerston joined the diplomatic service in 2016 from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

He was moved out of the department's central London building during the Covid pandemic and in 2020 he formally retired from his mousing duties.

In a letter to Lord Simon McDonald, then the most senior civil servant at the Foreign Office, he said he had enjoyed climbing trees and patrolling the fields around his new home and wanted to spend more time "relaxing away from the limelight".

Palmerston's return to diplomatic life appears to have delighted some of his 99,000 followers on social media platform X and Lord McDonald.

On social media, Lord McDonald said people often assumed that Palmerston had died when he told them he had retired to the countryside, but "now we have proof of life in Bermuda".

"Enjoy your latest assignment," Lord McDonald added.

Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory made up of 181 islands in the North Atlantic Ocean. The British government is responsible for foreign affairs and defence of the archipelago.

The governor is nominated by the British government. It is a largely ceremonial role but includes key constitutional and security responsibilities alongside the archipelago's parliamentary system.

During his time at the FCDO, Palmerston was often photographed with visiting dignitaries.

He also had the occasional public run-in with his more famous feline neighbour, Larry, who is 10 Downing Street's Chief Mouser.