A police officer guarding former British prime minister Tony Blair left her loaded gun in a London coffee shop where it was found by a member of the public, police and media reports said on Thursday.
The Sun reported that the female officer left the semi-automatic Glock 17 on the floor of the toilets in a Starbucks café, where it remained for nearly 20 minutes before being found by an employee, who called the police.
London’s Scotland Yard confirmed that a gun belonging to a member of the police force’s firearms division “was left unattended in a central London cafe on August 29 and was found by a member of the public”.
The newspaper reported that the officer, a plain-clothes policewoman in her 30s, soon realised her mistake and spent nearly an hour looking for the weapon. The gun was eventually traced back to her through its serial number.
She was reportedly a member of the Specialist Protection Command, which is responsible for the personal safety of Blair and current premier Gordon Brown.
An investigation has been launched into the incident.
Blair stood down last year and now represents the Middle East Quartet — the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States — which is seeking negotiations for a lasting peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. — AFP