Boris Johnson's dog fails - from leg humping to killing Queen's swan

Boris Johnson's dog Dilyn once killed a gosling in the gardens of Buckingham Palace, and that's not the only time the pooch has landed the former Prime Minister in hot water

Boris Johnson's dog Dilyn has got him into numerous sticky situations in the past, including the time he killed a royal swan in the gardens of Buckingham Palace.

Royal biographer Robert Hardman revealed in his new book, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, that the former Prime Minister's dog attacked and killed a gosling while out for a walk in the grounds of Buckingham Palace during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Johnson did not tell Queen Elizabeth about his Jack Russell's behaviour, but according to Mr Hardman, the late monarch later made a comment during one of their audiences that suggested she knew what had happened.

In a passage from his book, serialised by the Mail Online, Mr Hardman wrote: "At their next encounter, the Queen nonchalantly talked about walking in the palace gardens before adding crisply: 'I gather Jack Russells don't go very well with goslings.' That was the end of the matter."

And Dilyn's run-in with the royal swan isn't the only time pooch - who was adopted by Johnson and his wife Carrie in 2019 - has caused problems for the former Prime Minister. The Jack Russell cross, also known as a Kromfohrlander, was rescued as a puppy from a breeder in South Wales and taken to the Friends of Animals Wales with a misaligned jaw.

Named Dilyn, the Welsh word for 'follow', the puppy spent time with a foster family in Merthyr Tydfil before being adopted by Johnson and his then-girlfriend, Carrie. In March 2020, when Carrie was pregnant with the couple's son, Wilfred, Dominic Cummings told MPs how she went "completely crackers" after The Times published a story about the couple's intentions to rehome Dilyn.

While deciding whether to put the country into lockdown over the Covid-19 pandemic and judging calls from Donald Trump for the UK to join a bombing campaign in the Middle East, Carrie allegedly demanded staff deal with the March 11 story.

A 325-word letter was drafted in response to the article, with it claiming it was a "wholly false premise" and caused them to receive abuse from the public who had been "misled into believing that we would callously rehome our much-loved family dog." Mr Cummings claimed that Mr Johnson would have sent the letter if he hadn't put a stop to it - a claim which was denied.

"The PM went along with it initially because Carrie was very cross," an insider told the Mail at the time. "It was none of Dom's business but he hated Carrie and went berserk. He told the PM it was a waste of time – and the PM agreed. He sympathised with Carrie's feelings but said, 'I can't sign this – it's nonsense'."

A No10 spokeswoman said: "The Prime Minister's partner addressed these reports at the time. They are totally untrue.”

Mr Johnson came under fire because of Dilyn again in February 2021 after using taxpayers' cash to fund an Instagram-style photoshoot of his dog. Shared on the government's official Flickr page, the photographs showed his dog frolicking in the snow while chewing on a small stick.

At the time, the Mirror revealed Number 10 had three vanity photographers on staff, with the pictures credited to a taxpayer-funded photographer. The Mirror reported the civil service photographer had been working in Number 10 on secondment from the Ministry of Defence since early 2020.

She captured several Number 10 press conferences, the PM delivering a coronavirus address to the nation, as well as photos for other government work. However, an online profile described her as "MOD photographer for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson ".

Just months later, in July 2021, Mr Johnson revealed how Dilyn had been neutered in an attempt to reduce his "endless" romantic urges that would see him humping people's legs. The dog is said to have played into his urges when visiting Surrey Police's headquarters in Guildford.

Former chancellor Sajid Javid would watch out for Dilyn when he was in one of his moods as he would display "amorous intentions" towards his cavapoo, Bailey.

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