Lola the dog joins George Osborne in Downing Street

Mr Osborne's children named the bichon frise dog Lola

George Osborne has welcomed a new dog to Downing Street, announcing the new arrival on his Twitter feed.

The Chancellor also posted a picture of the young bichon frise named Lola.

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

The family already have a cat called Freya, which took up residence in the street in 2012. Lola is said to be "cat friendly".

Britain's political leaders have traditionally plumped for cats over canines, with Prime Minister David Cameron introducing a four-year old tabby called Larry to No 10 in 2011 in an effort to deal with No 10's rat problem.

Other recent Downing Street cats, known unofficially as Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, include former Chancellor Alistair Darling's cat Sybil and Humphrey, who was adopted in 1989 as a stray while Margaret Thatcher was prime minister.

Posting on Twitter, Mr Osborne said: "Welcome to the new resident of Downing St. The kids have called her Lola."

A later tweet 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 said.