Letter: Capital cat

Sir: Now that London is to have an elected mayor, would it not be an ideal opportunity to revive the historic tradition of Dick Whittington and have a cat as well? We had Humphrey at Number 10, but his role and status were never clear. Was he a civil servant - perhaps the first ailurocrat?

Let us have a democratically elected, publicly accountable cat for the capital and for the millennium. I'm ready to kick off the "Yes" campaign with the slogan "Bring Back the Cat!"

JOHN LAMPER

Wareham, Dorset