UK foreign minister Dominic Raab's bodyguard suspended after leaving gun on plane

UK Foreign Minister Dominic Raab’s bodyguard has been suspended from duty after reportedly leaving his gun on a plane at Heathrow airport on September 18. According to media reports, a loaded Glock 19 pistol was found by a cleaner who raised the alarm. The police boarded the plane and realised that the gun belonged to one of the close-protection officers of Raab.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson reportedly said that the department is aware of the incident on a flight into the UK is taking the matter “extremely seriously”. The spokesperson added that the officer involved in the incident has been “removed from operational duties” while an internal probe into the circumstances continues.

Similar incident

In February, a similar incident occurred when former UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s bodyguard left a loaded pistol in an aeroplane toilet while returning from New York to London. The bodyguard provided by Metropolitan Police, who left the pistol and Cameron’s passport behind in the plane’s toilet, was also suspended pending an investigation.

The other passengers were reportedly shocked when one of them found the pistol in the toilet and handed it over to the flight attendant on the British Airways scheduled service. The Metropolitan Police had issued a similar statement, saying they were aware of the incident and the officer involved was removed from operational duties.

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The latest incident happened when the UK Foreign Secretary returned from a visit to Washington where he held talks with senior US officials including State Secretary Mike Pompeo. The two leaders discussed several burning issues including Brexit, Middle East peace process, poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and human rights abuse in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, among others. 

“It is absolutely crucial that the freedoms of the people and the autonomy of Hong Kong are respected in full...China must also end the egregious human rights violations against the Uyghur population in Xinjiang,” he told a news conference after meeting with Pompeo.

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(Image: AP)