Something for the weekend: Lawrence of Abdoun has been appointed by the British Embassy in Amman, Jordan to take the role of its first diplocat.
Lawrence is the first official cat and overseas envoy for Palmerston, the Chief Mouser at the Foreign Office, and, is responsible for mousing, sleeping and being charming.
The diplocat, who was named after military officer, TE Lawrence serves to reflect a different side to Jordan and is always on hand to welcome visitors to the Embassy.
The black and white rescue cat loves to give supportive cuddles, which the Minister of State and MP for North East Bedfordshire, Alistair Burt, took full advantage of when he came to met the team at the embassy. Lawrence tweeted about his visit posting a picture with the minister.
Lawrence, who was rescued from the Humane Centre for Animal Welfare, has gathered a large following since he was employed in October. Within his first month, the mouse catcher gained 2,500 Twitter followers, and now has almost 6,000 fans on the social networking site, where he can be found tweeting at @LawrenceDipCat.
It has been commented that Lawrence is '"overweight” which has meant he has been put on an exercise regime during his breaks, especially as there are very few sightings of mice in the embassy.
Lawrence has now passed his probation period and is free to enjoy the full benefits of working at the British Embassy...