LONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - London's police force said on
Saturday it had suspended an officer tasked with guarding
British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab, following a newspaper
report that the officer had left a loaded gun on a plane.
The incident is the second time this year that a British
police officer has been suspended in similar circumstances. One
of former Prime Minister David Cameron's bodyguards mislaid his
firearm and Cameron's passport in a plane toilet in February.
Britain's Sun newspaper said a cleaner at London's Heathrow
Airport found a semi-automatic Glock 19 pistol on a United
Airlines plane which had just landed after an overnight flight
from Washington.
Raab had been travelling back to Britain on the flight after
meeting U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
"We are aware of the incident on a flight into the UK on
Friday 18 September and we are taking this matter extremely
seriously," London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
"The officer involved has since been removed from
operational duties whilst an internal investigation into the
circumstances is taking place," it said.
The Sun said the officer had been sorting out passports when
he took off his holster with the pistol in it, and left it on
the seat of the plane.
A police spokesman said he could not comment on the details
of the Sun's report.
(Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by David Clarke)