Dominic Raab’s bodyguard ‘left the gun on the plane’

Dominic Raab’s bodyguard has been “removed from operational duties” after he allegedly left his weapon on a plane at Heathrow.

A cleaner is reported to have found the Glock 19 pistol loaded in its holster on a seat on the United Airlines flight after it landed in London on Friday.

The foreign secretary had been in Washington DC to speak with American politicians about Brexit.

Scotland Yard said an internal investigation was underway.

The cleaner raised the alarm after finding the weapon, the Sun reported, and police boarded the plane, before realizing that the weapon belonged to one of Raab’s escort officers.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: “We are aware of the incident on a flight to the UK on Friday 18 September and we are taking this matter very seriously.

“Since then, the officer involved has been removed from his operational duties pending an internal investigation into the circumstances.”

‘Lack of concentration’

The Sun reported that the officer removed his holster and placed it on his seat before escorting the foreign secretary out of the flight, leaving it behind.

Former Met Chief Superintendent Nick Aldworth told the BBC that there were strict rules on handling firearms, but that human error does occur.

“This kind of thing is not common, but it does happen,” he told the Today show. “It happens because human beings are in the system and human beings operate under an enormous amount of stress at times, particularly when they are handling armed operations or in the middle of an armed operation.

“This seems to be an unfortunate lapse of concentration for which the officer will pay a price in their career, to the extent that they have been removed from their operational duties, which is something they probably love to do, and sadly for them, no longer. they will. be able to do. “

He added that the Met takes these matters “incredibly seriously.”

In February, a bodyguard of former Prime Minister David Cameron was investigated for reportedly leaving his gun in an airplane bathroom.

In that incident, the weapon was found by a passenger on a British Airways flight from New York to London. Cameron is entitled to the continued security provided by the Metropolitan Police as a former Prime Minister.