Andy Burnham has said his pet dog Axel will not be moving into Downing Street with him, joking that the bichon frise-poodle cross has "that angry little man thing going on" and would not get along with Larry, the Cabinet Office's resident cat. The comment came during the prime minister's first major broadcast interview since taking office, in which he affectionately dubbed his dog "Famous Axel" and said he felt the nation would not thank him for disturbing Larry's world. Though a light-hearted aside, the exchange has drawn attention given Larry's decade-plus status as an enduring, internationally recognised fixture of No 10 across multiple premierships.

Axel, described by Burnham as a "bich-poo" or "poochon", was adopted by the prime minister and his wife around ten years ago after just 12 days at Dogs Trust Shrewsbury, and will remain in the north of England rather than relocate to London. Elsewhere in the BBC interview, Burnham spoke movingly about being greeted by his mother at Downing Street after becoming prime minister, describing the moment as "bittersweet" given his father's Alzheimer's meant he could not be present, though the family shared pride in the achievement.