Whitehall: A Conservative cabinet minister who went on the loose for about six hours after escaping from his enclosure has been safely recaptured.
The animal, called Gove, was initially thought to have fled from the Cabinet Office after strong winds damaged fencing.
Whitehall has now said his enclosure gate may have been left open deliberately.
Metropolitan Police said the fearsome creature travelled about four miles around the North Circular before he was caught near near the M4 motorway.
A spokesperson said: “Michael Gove was safely detained by officers and staff who had been working to recapture it.”
His keeper Theresa May helped encourage the 50-year-old predator into a caged trailer.
“It looks like somebody deliberately opened the gate and let him out. It looks like quite a lot of people don’t particularly believe in having animals holding senior roles in government.”
Mrs May added: “The fact he went through a field of sheep shows he probably wouldn’t have eaten any members of the public. Probably.”
An animal capture expert who was tracking Michale Gove said police would have gladly shot to kill.
Members of the public who were outdoors in Whitehall during the incident have been asking if it’s now safe to walk around but have been warned that there are still other cabinet ministers than the environment secretary unaccounted for.
Officers had also advised members of the public not to approach Mr Gove if they saw him.
After his capture a spokesperson said: “Fortunately hardly anybody was horrible maimed and eaten during this incident. Mr Gove is now safely chained up in the yard in Downing Street.”
