Black-and-white puss Gus has become the latest in a long line of political cats after being adopted from Cats Protection by DEFRA minister and Camborne MP George Eustice.

The three-year-old caught the eye of Mr Eustice and his wife Katy when they visited the charity’s Mitcham Homing Centre in Surrey to find a new pet. Gus, who was handed into the charity because his owner was moving and could no longer keep him, is now settling into his new home.

The long-haired moggy joins an illustrious list to bring a feline touch to political households, including Downing Street’s Larry, former Chancellor George Osborne’s Freya, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s El Gato and resident mousers Gladstone and Palmerston, now living at the Treasury and Foreign Office respectively.

Mr Eustice, MP for Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, said: "Gus, the newest addition to our family, took all of 20 minutes to settle into his new home and stretch out on the sofa. All the team at Cats Protection were fabulous. Charities like this do great work."

Cats Protection’s Mitcham Homing Centre’s deputy manager Rosie King said it was clear that Gus would make a perfect pet for the Eustices. “Gus has such a lovely temperament and he made a beeline for George and his wife as soon as he saw them. Within five minutes, he had plonked himself on their laps and was purring away. In hindsight, I think it was more a case of Gus choosing them than the other way round.

“George and Katy went away overnight to think it over but were back in the morning to collect Gus – he had certainly left an impression."