Cronus, who had been with the former defence secretary since he was a hatchling, achieved internet fame after reports about his life alongside his owner in Westminster emerged in 2016.

While Tory chief whip, Sir Gavin was said to have used Cronus to intimidate unruly MPs so they stuck to the party line.

"You have to look at all different ways to persuade people to vote with the government and it's great to have Cronus as part of the team," he told the Times in 2016.

There were questions over whether he was allowed to keep the tarantula in the Houses of Parliament. Cronus was reportedly evicted from the MoD over a colleague's arachnophobia the following year.

"I've had Cronus since he was a spiderling, so I have a very paternal sort of approach," Sir Gavin once told the Telegraph.

"It's very much the same sort of love and care that I give to my spider as I give to all MPs."

The Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge MP called the spider an "incredibly clean, ruthless killer" who was "absolutely fascinating to rear". He was named after the ruling Titan in Greek mythology who ate all his children.

While tarantulas can deliver a painful bite, they are not considered harmful to humans.

Cronus was roughly 11 years old when he died, which is around the average life span of a male tarantula, according to experts at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

Sir Gavin last shared an update on Cronus in September, when he wrote that the spider was "living a good retirement in Staffordshire", where the MP's constituency is located.

"End of an era," fellow MP Robert Jenrick commented in response to the announcement of Cronus's death. "Maybe a rabbit next time?"

Other high-profile Westminster pets include Downing Street's chief mouser, Larry the cat, and his Foreign Office counterpart Palmerston, who died in February after retiring to Bermuda.

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