London mayor’s protection officers relieved of duties after bag of guns ‘misplaced’

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (centre) joins a prayer at a Ramadan dinner event at Trafalgar Square on March 16.

Photo: EPA Armed police guarding London Mayor Sadiq Khan left a bag of guns outside his home which was found by a member of the public, it was reported.

Scaffolder Jordan Griffiths told The Sun that his pregnant girlfriend found the bag in south London on Tuesday evening.

Inside the bag was an MP5 semi-automatic Heckler & Koch carbine, a Glock pistol, taser and ammunition, the newspaper reported. “My partner saw the bag sitting in the road by the kerbside and became suspicious.

She went over to it and kicked it to see what it might be.

But it was really heavy and didn’t move,” he said. “It was lucky one of the guns inside didn’t go off or else she and our baby, due next month, could have been shot and killed.” Griffiths said he was in “shock” after discovering what was inside. “The bag was really heavy.

I thought it might be full of coins and took it inside using both my hands because of its weight.

I took it upstairs and put it on my bed and opened the bag up.

I could not believe my eyes.” New Scotland Yard in London is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police.

Photo: EPA-EFE He took some pictures as proof of what he had found. “I called the police and told them what I had found and within a few minutes they turned up to collect the guns.

When they arrived they were really shocked.

They looked through the bag carefully and hurriedly took them away,” he said. “I was told they had been left there by one of Sadiq Khan’s security officers, which made sense as he lives here.” The Metropolitan Police’s Directorate of Professional Standards is reviewing what happened and five officers have been removed from frontline duties.

The force said in a statement: “A member of the public called police after finding a bag containing Met-issued firearms and a taser on a street in south London.

Within seven minutes of the call to police, officers arrived at the scene and safely recovered the items. “We are urgently reviewing the circumstances of this incident and recognise the concern it may cause.

At this stage it is believed the bag was misplaced by on-duty officers a short time before the member of the public located it. “We recognise the concern this may cause and an internal review was immediately launched into the circumstances.” Sadiq’s office said: “This is a very serious incident, which has been referred to the Met’s Directorate of Professi

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