Larry the cat, or Nova the dog? A hidden power struggle has been raging behind the scenes at Number 10 – and one has come out on top.
That is according to Rishi Sunak’s wife, who has given an insight into life at Downing Street in a rare interview.
Speaking to the Sky Kids FYI show, Akshata Murty said while she felt “honoured” to live in the famous residence, Nova, the family’s pet Labrador, is having “mixed emotions”.
Speaking from Number 10, Ms Murty said: “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.”
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Larry (also known as Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office), has resided in Number 10 for 12 years, remaining the one constant within an ever-changing government.
Image: Nova the dog is having ‘mixed emotions’ living in Downing Street with Larry the Cat
He has served as a trusted companion to five prime ministers: David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and now Mr Sunak, who came into office a year ago – bringing Nova along with him.
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Ms Murty, the daughter of an Indian billionaire, said “not much has changed” since then.
FYI: Weekly News Show is from Sky Kids and the full interview can be seen on Sky News across the weekend
Asked what it’s like to be the wife of a prime minister, she said: “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.”
Image: Larry the cat is the famous feline resident of Number 10
Ms Murty has created an initiative – “Lessons at 10” – which invites children from across the UK to the prime minister’s residence to learn about the building’s history and the role of government.
She said: “Through the Lessons at 10 programme, meeting lots of young people every Friday, I really enjoy that and so for me, I look at it (being the prime minister’s wife) as 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. “
Ms Murty, a computer scientist and engineer who was the first woman to work for India’s largest carmaker, has also worked for her father’s tech empire Infosys, which she has a stake in, and has founded multiple businesses.
She and Mr Sunak married in 2009 after they met at Stanford University and have two young daughters.
While she has largely remained out of sight of the cameras since her husband’s rise to power, her wealth has come under scrutiny.
Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, marks their 50th birthday amid a year of rising institutional and geopolitical adoption of the world’s first cryptocurrency.
The identity of Nakamoto remains one of the biggest mysteries in crypto, with speculation ranging from cryptographers like Adam Back and Nick Szabo to broader theories involving government intelligence agencies.
While Nakamoto’s identity remains anonymous, the Bitcoin (BTC) creator is believed to have turned 50 on April 5 based on details shared in the past.
According to archived data from his P2P Foundation profile, Nakamoto once claimed to be a 37-year-old man living in Japan and listed his birthdate as April 5, 1975.
Nakamoto’s anonymity has played a vital role in maintaining the decentralized nature of the Bitcoin network, which has no central authority or leadership.
The Bitcoin wallet associated with Nakamoto, which holds over 1 million BTC, has laid dormant for more than 16 years despite BTC rising from $0 to an all-time high above $109,000 in January.
Satoshi Nakamoto statue in Lugano, Switzerland. Source: Cointelegraph
Nakamoto’s 50th birthday comes nearly a month after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, marking the first major step toward integrating Bitcoin into the US financial system.
Nakamoto’s legacy: a “cornerstone of economic sovereignty”
“At 50, Nakamoto’s legacy is no longer just code; it’s a cornerstone of economic sovereignty,” according to Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain expert.
“Bitcoin’s reserve status signals trust in its scarcity and resilience,” Lian told Cointelegraph, adding:
“What’s fascinating is the timing. Fifty feels symbolic — half a century of life, mirrored by Bitcoin’s journey from a white paper to a trillion-dollar asset. Nakamoto’s vision of trustless, peer-to-peer money has outgrown its cypherpunk roots, entering the halls of power.”
However, lingering questions about Nakamoto remain unanswered, including whether they still hold the keys to their wallet, which is “a fortune now tied to US policy,” Lian said.
In February, Arkham Intelligence published findings that attribute 1.096 million BTC — then valued at more than $108 billion — to Nakamoto. That would place him above Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on the global wealth rankings, according to data shared by Coinbase director Conor Grogan.
If accurate, this would make Nakamoto the world’s 16th richest person.
Despite the growing interest in Nakamoto’s identity and holdings, his early decision to remain anonymous and inactive has helped preserve Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos — a principle that continues to define the cryptocurrency to this day.
The United States stock market lost more in value over the April 4 trading day than the entire cryptocurrency market is worth, as fears over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs continue to ramp up.
On April 4, the US stock market lost $3.25 trillion — around $570 billion more than the entire crypto market’s $2.68 trillion valuation at the time of publication.
Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market”
Among the Magnificent-7 stocks, Tesla (TSLA) led the losses on the day with a 10.42% drop, followed by Nvidia (NVDA) down 7.36% and Apple (AAPL) falling 7.29%, according to TradingView data.
The significant decline across the board signals that the Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market” after falling 6% across the trading day, trading resource account The Kobeissi Letter said in an April 4 X post. This is the largest daily decline since March 16, 2020.
“US stocks have now erased a massive -$11 TRILLION since February 19 with recession odds ABOVE 60%,” it added. The Kobessi Letter said Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement was “historic” and if the tariffs continue, a recession will be “impossible to avoid.”
Even some crypto skeptics have pointed out the contrast between Bitcoin’s performance and the US stock market during the recent period of macro uncertainty.
Stock market commentator Dividend Hero told his 203,200 X followers that he has “hated on Bitcoin in the past, but seeing it not tank while the stock market does is very interesting to me.”
Meanwhile, technical trader Urkel said Bitcoin “doesn’t appear to care one bit about tariff wars and markets tanking.” Bitcoin is trading at $83,749 at the time of publication, down 0.16% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data.