Sunak's dog loses the battle for No10 against an old veteran of Westminster turf wars

Larry the cat is often seen strutting around Downing Street, keen to show who is boss - but many have wondered how he behaves within.

Now, Rishi Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty, 43, has revealed “heated exchanges” have taken place between him and their family’s fox red Labrador retriever, Nova - and Larry has won the argument.

Offering a rare glimpse into life in No 10, she told the Sky Kids FYI show: “Nova has mixed emotions about (living here) because she sometimes doesn’t get on with Larry the cat.

“And they’ve had some heated exchanges and Larry’s come out on top.

“So she might have some mixed opinions on living here. But, you know, our family is so grateful to be here.”

Latest pet reshuffle

Larry has lived in No10 for 12 years, accompanying five prime ministers - David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Mr Sunak - throughout the political turmoil of the last decade.

But Nova is not the first pet in a Prime Minister’s family to enter Larry’s stomping ground, as Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie had a Jack Russell called Dilyn, who was rescued from a puppy farm.

The former chancellor George Osborne also had a cat called Freya who got into tussles with Larry, with police even breaking up a fight on Downing Street between them in October 2012.

Before Larry’s time, the former Labour chancellor Alistair Darling had a black and white pet feline called Sybil - named after Sybil Fawlty from Fawlty Towers.

Perhaps one of the most famous of all was Humphrey, a reference to Sir Humphrey in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister, who arrived at the residence as a stray cat in 1989 and was present during the administrations of Margaret Thatcher and John Major and Tony Blair.

‘Busy life’

Ms Murty, the daughter of an Indian billionaire, who rarely gives interviews, said of life in Westminster: “You know, I’ve had a busy life before. I’ve a busy life now.

“I think what’s been incredible is the range of opportunities that I’ve been exposed to... meeting really interesting people.”

She added that it was “a very special time in my life to help support my husband in the job he’s doing while opening up the doors to young people”, through her ‘Lessons at 10’ programme where she invites children to learn about the residence each Friday.

She and Mr Sunak met at Stanford University before going on to marry in 2009, and they now have two young daughters, Anoushka and Krishna.

Ms Murty has a stake in her father’s £50 billion technology company Infosys, while her mother Sudha is a philanthropist and millionaire computer scientist who was the first female engineer to work for India’s then-largest carmaker.