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David Cameron’s bodyguard ‘leaves gun in BA plane toilet’
A special protection officer for David Cameron has been suspended after reportedly leaving his gun in the toilet on a New York-London flight this week.
It was found alongside his own and the former prime minister’s passports near the sink in the WC cubicle of a British Airways aircraft just before take-off on Monday.
All three items were found by a fellow passenger and were handed over to flight crew, according to reports.
The gun, believed to be a 9mm Glock 17 pistol, was reported to have been left by the officer after he took off his holster while using the toilet.
A 33-year-old businessman who was on the flight told the Sun: "There was a real commotion going on with a guy near to me. He said he had found a gun in the toilets, which was met with disbelief … [The captain] tried to calm everyone down by explaining that the law allowed handguns on planes for protection officers and that the gun was back with the bodyguard.
"But a guy wasn’t having it. He said he felt uncomfortable about guns being allowed on the plane. The captain left and came back a few minutes later to say the gun had been removed from the plane."
Another said the passenger who found the gun and passports had taken photographs on his phone and was showing the images to others on the flight.
Scotland Yard said: "The officer involved has since been removed from operational duties. We are taking this matter extremely seriously and an internal investigation is taking place."
A British Airways spokeswoman said: "We follow CAA rules which allow UK police to carry firearms on board in specific, controlled circumstances. Our crew dealt with the issue quickly before departure and the flight continued as normal."
The Sun reports the passenger who found the items was upgraded to business class.
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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