Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

An Unexpected Wilderness Cam At Britain's No. 10 Downing St.

A fox runs past the door of No. 10 Downing St. in London on Monday.
Justin Tallis
/
AFP/Getty Images
A fox runs past the door of No. 10 Downing St. in London on Monday.

Things are getting wild at the British prime minister's residence. No, that's not a reference to the official start of the 2015 election campaign: Photographers who staked out No. 10 Downing St. Monday captured images of a fox slinking past the door of the famous residence.

And that's not the only animal that appeared at Prime Minister David Cameron's door on Monday. His cat, Larry, popped out for some fresh air — and shared an awkward moment with a police dog.

British Prime Minister David Cameron's cat, Larry, comes face to face with a police dog called Bailey as it does a security check outside No. 10 Downing St.
Justin Tallis / AFP/Getty Images
/
AFP/Getty Images
British Prime Minister David Cameron's cat, Larry, comes face to face with a police dog called Bailey as it does a security check outside No. 10 Downing St.

The media had converged on Cameron's residence after Parliament was dissolved, setting a date of May 7 for national elections that are widely viewed as both unpredictable and possibly defining Britain's future in the European Union.

"Prime Minister David Cameron promises that if his Conservative party remains in power, he will let voters choose whether the U.K. should stay in the European Union," NPR's Ari Shapiro reports from London. "Polls show a near tie between Conservatives and Labour, though neither party is expected to win an outright majority."

When Cameron finally emerged from No. 10 Downing St. to speak to the media, the BBC reports that he said he "wants to complete the job of 'turning the country around.' "

Cameron and his rivals will face off in a debate on live TV on Thursday. The U.K.'s election campaign will last 38 days.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Bill Chappell is a writer and editor on the News Desk in the heart of NPR's newsroom in Washington, D.C.