The chancellor's pooch, a moody mouser George Osborne has banished his tabby cat Freya from Downing Street She lost out in battle for Chancellor's affections to a Bichon Frise called Lola Freya exiled to Kent where she will live with a member of Mr Osborne's staff Official explanation is that Freya has moved for her own safety after being hit by a car near Downing Street Other sources claim it was favouritism and chancellor is more of a dog man It is the story of the Chancellor who fell for a designer dog and turned his back on a previously loved family cat. George Osborne has banished his tabby cat Freya from Downing Street after she lost out in the battle for his affections to a Bichon Frise called Lola. After five years with the Osbornes, Freya has been exiled to the Kent countryside where she will live with a member of Mr Osborne's staff. George Osborne has banished his tabby cat Freya (pictured) from Downing Street after she lost out in the battle for his affections to a Bichon Frise called Lola Freya has been exiled to the Kent countryside where she will live with a member of Mr Osborne's staff To appease the Chancellor's two children, Luke, 13, and Liberty, 11, her new owner has agreed to send them regular photographs and updates about the cat. The official explanation is that the move is for Freya's own safety: it comes just weeks after she was hit by a car near Downing Street. The mog has also made headlines for her worrying tendency to stray. But other sources claim it was simple favouritism - Mr Osborne is more of a dog man, and Freya was felt to have been "bullying" Lola, who is half her size. When the Chancellor first brought Lola back to the flat above No 10 where he lives, in 2011, Freya was already firmly ensconsed. Although each pet had the run of their own floor of the apartment, when they met on the stairs the mood was said to have been "frosty." Lola soon cemented her place in the Government by getting "married" to Chief Whip Michael Gove's male Bichon Frise, Snowy, in a flower-strewn ceremony. Mr Osborne has been gushing about Lola, who he devotedly takes for loo breaks in the Downing Street garden at 6am and midnight. Mr Osborne has been gushing about Lola (pictured), who he devotedly takes for loo breaks in the Downing Street garden Only yesterday he told an interviewer that he thought Lola was "much prettier" than Mr Gove's dog. He didn't mention Freya. Last night, a Downing Street source told The Mail on Sunday: "Freya had to go, it just wasn't working out. She was a handful. Poor Lola was scared of her. However, an aide to the Chancellor was at pains to deny that Freya had been intimidating the dog. "The issue was her tendency to roam, not her relations with Lola," he said. She has ended up all over the place: Trafalgar Square, the Red Lion pub [on Whitehall] and miles south of the river. It was getting too much and it was only a matter of time before she was seriously hurt. Freya's temperament was first questioned when she was seen fighting with David Cameron's cat, Larry, on the Downing Street pavement. This summer, the tabby had to be treated by vets after being hit by a car. Her injuries were minor, but it confirmed the Chancellor's growing view that the Osbornes should become a one-pet family. Freya went missing from Mr Osborne's Notting Hill home in 2009 and, after the family moved to Downing Street, she strayed more frequently, once travelling more than a mile to Vauxhall, where she was rescued by a charity worker. Last night, a Treasury aide said: "The car accident could have been fatal, and as a result the family took the view that she was at too much risk living in Downing Street." Freya's departure leaves Larry, who lives with the Camerons above No 11, as the last feline in residence in Downing Street. The most famous No 10 cat was Humphrey, who was adopted in 1989 as a stray while Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister. When Tony Blair moved in, officials were forced to organise a photocall to disprove rumours the cat had been put down by wife Cherie.