PM’s Chief Whip keeps a TARANTULA on his desk to scare MPs into submission
The furry, eight-legged creature is the latest recruit to the Whip's Office under Gavin Williamson
TORY MPs beware - there's a furry surprise waiting for you should you be called into the Chief Whip's office for a telling off.
Theresa May's top Commons enforcer has gone the extra mile to keep rebellious MPs in line – by keeping a scary pet tarantula on his desk.
Conservative Gavin Williamson, appointed by Mrs May over the summer, said that eight-legged Cronus was a “ruthless killer”.
Disobedient party politicians are traditionally fearful of the chief whip’s "black book", which is full of their darkest secrets and used to keep them in line.
But the hairy arachnid is thought to be enough to cause alarm to MPs.
Mr Williamson’s admiration for the creepy crawly is a far cry from the reaction to much-loved political pets Larry the cat, from Downing Street, and the Foreign Office’s Palmerston.
The two cats were hired to deal with mice in Whitehall.
The politician told The Telegraph: “Everyone is obsessed with Palmerston and Larry the cat, but in the Whip’s office we have a proper pet."
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“I’ve had Cronus since he was a spider-ling, so I have a very paternal sort of approach," he added.
"It’s very much the same sort of love and care that I give to my spider as I give to all MPs.” That's enough to send shivers down the spines of any MP.
Mr Williamson, 40, insists he hasn’t received any complaints about Cronus, who is named after a Greek god who overthrew his father by castrating him with a sickle.
And over the Christmas breaks and Commons recess, the MP takes him back his home in South Staffordshire.
Let's hope that cage remains tightly shut on the train...