A bag containing live firearms and a Taser was left unattended on a public street in south London by officers from the Mayor’s own security detail, in a serious breach of protection protocols that has prompted a major police investigation.
The holdall was discovered at approximately 9.30pm on Tuesday evening near the home of Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who receives 24-hour police protection. A pregnant woman first spotted the bag, and after finding it suspiciously heavy when she kicked it, alerted her partner, scaffolder Jordan Griffiths, who brought it inside.
Upon opening it, Mr Griffiths told The Sun he “could not believe my eyes.” The bag contained an arsenal of police-issue weaponry: an MP5 semi-automatic Heckler & Koch carbine, a Glock pistol, a Taser, and a quantity of ammunition. “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,” he said.
Security Procedures and Public Safety Questioned
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that within seven minutes of a member of the public calling at around 9.40pm, officers arrived and safely recovered the items. A force spokesman said it was believed the bag was “misplaced by on-duty officers a short time before.”
The incident has drawn sharp condemnation, with former minister and Tory MP Kevin Foster describing it as an “absolutely terrible” fiasco. He highlighted the rigorous procedures governing police firearms, telling the People’s Channel: “The idea that you’re supposed to know where they are at all times… leaving a bag of guns outside the house isn’t the best way of doing that.”
Mr Foster warned of dual risks: a breach in the Mayor’s security, and the potential for the weapons to have been stolen and used in London’s criminal underworld. He also suggested the Home Office would be “very worried” given broader national security concerns, including the threat of proxy attacks by Iran. Security analysts note Iran has demonstrated intent to target assets abroad, with MI5 reportedly tracking over twenty potentially lethal Iran-backed plots in the UK in a single recent year.
The lapse is particularly striking given the elite status of Authorised Firearms Officers (AFOs). The Metropolitan Police is a predominantly unarmed service, with a limited cadre of officers who undergo intense selection and training under the College of Policing’s National Police Firearms Training Curriculum. Specialist Firearms Teams (SFOs) are deployed for high-risk operations.
Investigation Launched, Officers Removed from Duty
The Metropolitan Police’s Directorate of Professional Standards has launched a formal investigation. A spokesperson for Mayor Sadiq Khan said the matter had been referred to the DPS and that “The Met must now take all steps to ensure an incident like this never occurs again.”
In an immediate disciplinary action, all five officers connected to the incident have been removed from frontline duties pending the outcome of the probe. The force stated it was “urgently reviewing the circumstances” and recognised the concern it would cause.
The alarming discovery was made on the same night that parts of south London were experiencing significant disorder, with hundreds of teenagers reportedly causing damage along Clapham High Street, leading to police dispersal orders and arrests. Four officers were assaulted in those separate incidents.
The inadvertent abandonment of a loaded weapon cache in the midst of a metropolitan area represents a profound failure in a system designed for maximum control. It raises acute questions about the safeguarding protocols for the very officers tasked with protecting the capital’s most prominent figures from harm.
