'Big day for me and Phil!' Gladstone the cat 'tweets' ahead of Budget 2017
CHANCELLOR Philip Hammond was not the only one making announcements today as Gladstone the cat, chief mouser to HM Treasury, was pictured emerging from the budget briefcase on Twitter.
Treasury 'chief mouser' Gladstone tours Whitehall
The two-year-old domestic shorthair began life as a stray before finding a luxury home in the corridors of power thanks to Battersea Dogs and Cats home.
A post on his twitter account read today: “Apparently this is actually quite an important box.
Gladstone tweeted that he'd been using the famous red briefcase as a litter tray
It is tradition for the Chancellor to hold the budget box aloft
Big day for me and Phil. Wish us luck!
"I’ve been using it as a litter tray! Big day for me and Phil. Wish us luck!”
A Treasury official who helps to care for Gladstone said: “You can still get on with work - and if you’re in a bad mood you can play with him in your lunch hour and he will cheer you up!”
The Chancellor uses a bright red briefcase to transport his Budget speech from his residence at No 11 Downing Street to the House of Commons.
Treasury recruits new 'chief mouser' Gladstone
I'm looking after this today for Phil. Everything is ready for the #Budget2017 pic.twitter.com/tTGN8pTa4g
— Gladstone (@TreasuryMog) March 8, 2017
Traditionally the Chancellor holds the Budget box aloft when he leaves No 11, a tradition which dates back to the mid 19th century.
In 1869, Chancellor George Ward-Hunt arrived at Parliament and opened his briefcase to find that he had left his Budget speech at home.