DILYN the dog has been ‘promoted’ to the Cabinet according to Downing Street.
The PM’s pooch has been became the top dog in No10 after they were forced to justify using taxpayer funded photographers to take snaps of the Jack Russell frolicking in the snow.
The snaps were taken by a civil service photographer who usually works for Ministry of Defence but who has been on secondment to the Prime Minister’s staff since last year.
They show the Minister without Paw-folio playing in the snow in Downing Street’s garden.
Another official snap was taken of Larry the cat, Downing Street’s chief mouser sat on a cabinet inside No10.
Asked if it was the correct use of cash the Boris Johnson’s spokesman suggested the pooch had been promoted to the Cabinet.
He said: “They document, the work of not just the Prime Minister, but the whole of the cabinet.”
It comes as No10 took on another snapper on around £60,000 last week.
They both work alongside Andrew Parsons, the PM’s vanity snapper who works part-time on a special advisor salary, equivalent to £100,000 a year.
The PM’s official spokesman said: “These photographers document the work for the government, as well as the work inside Number 10.
“We make these pictures available for editorial use, not just domestically, but internationally.”
A Labour source said: “The Government has made such a dog’s dinner of issues from the border response to kids’ education, Dilyn would be a marked improvement and probably waste less taxpayers’ cash.”
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner added: “The public will be rightly questioning why there is apparently no limit on the money that can be found to pay for a coterie of vanity photographers for the Prime Minister.”
Danielle Boxall, media campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: ”Number 10 must be barking mad if they think taxpayers will be happy funding photos of the PM’s dog.
“Budgets are tight, so if these costs do end up being paid for by the public purse, it’ll seem that Downing Street isn’t getting the picture.
“Politicians’ personal shoots should be funded from their own coffers.”
