A dog for the Osborne offspring

George Osborne has caved into pressure for a pre-election splurge - and bought a dog for his children.

The Chancellor posted a picture of Lola, a young Bichon Frise, on his Twitter feed.

"Welcome to the new resident of Downing St. The kids have called her Lola," he wrote.

It is understood that Mr Osborne and wife Frances bowed to long-standing demands from 12-year-old son Luke and 10-year-old daughter Liberty.

It remains to be seen how Lola will get on with the family's cat Freya, who already lives in the flat above Number 10. However, sources suggested the new addition was "cat friendly".

Posting on Twitter later, Mr Osborne revealed that Lola had already been active on the business front.

Thanks for all the messages. Some early issues with toilet training ... but we don't care. We love her," he wrote.