Dilyn’s NOT in the dog house! Boris Johnson takes pet for jog in show of support after claims he wanted pooch ‘SHOT’ for chewing books, wrecking antique furniture and ‘marking his territory’ at Chequers
- PM seen running around St James’s Park wearing a jumper, Adidas shorts and his famous Welsh flag beanie
- Just days after he called for someone to ‘please shoot that f****** dog’ after he damaged Chequers antiques
- Lively Jack Russel-cross also sparked a row in Downing Street by cocking a leg over a senior aide’s handbag
Dilyn appears to now be out of the dog house as Boris Johnson was seen taking him for a run today just days after calling for someone to ‘please shoot that f****** dog’ after he gnawed his way through antiques at Chequers.
The PM – wearing a jumper, Adidas shorts and his favourite red beanie hat embossed with a Welsh flag – was seen puffing his way around St James’s Park followed by two protection officers.
Dilyn, a Jack Russel-cross beloved of Mr Johnson’s fiancée, Carrie Symonds, 32, recently landed him with a four-figure repair bill after chewing on antique furniture and books at the country residence in Buckinghamshire.
Mr Johnson, 56, has told friends he had to foot the bill for ‘making things good’.
Boris Johnson – wearing a jumper, Adidas shorts and his favourite red beanie hat embossed with a Welsh flag – was seen puffing his way around St James’s Park today followed by two protection officers
The PM’s decision to take Dilyn with him on a run comes days after he called for someone to ‘please shoot that f****** dog’ after he gnawed through antiques at Chequers
News of the latest Dilyn-related drama emerged 24 hours after the Mail revealed that the dog sparked a row in Downing Street by cocking a leg over a senior aide’s handbag in the No 10 garden.
But Dilyn caused an even bigger stink at Chequers, where Mr Johnson and Ms Symonds spend many weekends, taking him for walks on the 1,000-acre estate.
One insider said: ‘I was at a meeting where Dilyn darted under the PM’s feet with an old book in its mouth. The PM shouted “for God’s sake, I’m going to get another £1,000 repair bill! Someone please shoot that f****** dog!”
‘Luckily, Carrie wasn’t around to hear him.’ They added: ‘I don’t think he meant it literally.’
Another witness described a ‘Laurel and Hardy-style farce’ as a kneeling Prime Minister attempted to reclaim the book from Dilyn’s clenched jaws.
A government source said: ‘Dilyn is not popular with staff at Chequers. He causes havoc, gnawing at the furniture and soiling the carpets which have to be cleared up.’
The 16th-century manor house in Buckinghamshire has served as the country residence of every prime minister for a century.
Given to the nation by Sir Arthur Lee, who set up a trust to pay for its upkeep, it is crammed with antiquities and art.
The property’s wood-panelled Great Hall contains a 40ft-by-40ft rug and a grand piano beloved by Winston Churchill.
Mr Johnson, 56, seen in St James’s Park on a run this morning, has told friends he had to foot the bill for ‘making things good’
Carrie Symonds holds Dilyn after arriving for the Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency count declaration at Brunel University in Uxbridge, London, in December 2019
Chequers, a 16th-century manor house in Buckinghamshire, has served as the country residence of every prime minister for a century
One visitor claims to have seen Dilyn ‘mount’ a stool made from the foot of an elephant shot by US president Teddy Roosevelt.
On another occasion, a minister was taken aback at a Chequers gathering when Dilyn relieved himself during a discussion on foreign affairs.
‘We ignored the pong at first,’ they said. ‘Then everyone burst out laughing.’
One senior Tory claimed a farmer had complained to Mr Johnson after Dilyn wandered into his field.
‘The PM said the farmer had threatened to shoot Dilyn if it happened again,’ the source said.
The comments came as further details emerged of what has become known as Dilyn’s Watergate, which saw him cock a leg over No 10 aide Katie Lam’s handbag.
Sources said Miss Symonds was ‘very angry’ with the ensuing reaction from Miss Lam, who has now left her post. ‘Katie did nothing wrong,’ a friend of Miss Lam said.
‘She did what any woman would have done when they saw a dog about to relieve itself on her handbag. She is brilliant and a massive loss to No 10.’
The PM regularly goes on runs with Dilyn around Chequers, and is seen with him in the countryside near the grand house last year
Mr Johnson with his pet dog Dilyn on a visit to Conservative Party HQ on day 28 of his General Election Campaign in 2019
A Downing Street spokesman said Miss Lam resigned ‘on friendly terms’.
There is no suggestion that her departure is linked to the incident in the garden, nor is there any criticism by the Daily Mail of Miss Symonds or Miss Lam.
Rumours swirling around Westminster that Dilyn could face an outright ban from Chequers were dismissed by No 10.
An official defended the dog, saying: ‘It’s not his fault. He is a lovely little fellow but does not appear to have got enough training when he was a puppy.
‘He has bundles of energy and constantly gets under your feet… he doesn’t know any better.’
Abandoned by a puppy farmer for having a misaligned jaw, Dilyn was rescued by the Friends of Animals Wales charity before being adopted by Mr Johnson and Miss Symonds.
Friends of the Prime Minister stressed that he loves Dilyn. Downing Street declined to comment.
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