Met Police face second weapons loss as Tasers and bullets go missing after mayor’s home incident
The Metropolitan Police is facing urgent questions over the security of its arsenal after it emerged that three Taser stun guns and 25 rounds of live ammunition have gone missing from its elite firearms unit, compounding a separate and highly alarming incident in which a bag containing a submachine gun, pistol and Taser was left on a south London street.
Scotland Yard’s Specialist Firearms Command, known as MO19, reported the disappearance of the three 50,000-volt Tasers, with two remaining unaccounted for. Over the same five-year period leading up to April 2025, the unit also permanently lost two Taser cartridges and 25 rounds of ammunition, comprising 9mm and 5.56mm bullets. These revelations, reported by The Sun, stand in stark contrast to forces like South Yorkshire and West Midlands, which reported no such losses.
A Bag of Weapons on a Clapham Kerb
These systemic losses come less than a week after a breathtaking security lapse by a different armed unit. On the evening of March 31, a pregnant woman noticed an unusually heavy holdall on a kerbside near the London Mayor’s residence in Clapham. She fetched her partner, scaffolder Jordan Griffiths, who discovered inside an arsenal of police-issue weaponry.
The bag contained an American-made Heckler & Koch MP5SF A3 semi-automatic carbine, capable of firing 800 rounds per minute, and an Austrian Glock 17 pistol loaded with at least ten rounds in a leather holster. A Taser in a nylon holster and additional ammunition were also inside. Mr Griffiths contacted police at approximately 9.40pm; officers arrived within seven minutes to retrieve the items.
Officers later informed Mr Griffiths the holdall had been left by a member of Mayor Sadiq Khan’s armed protection detail, which is provided by the Met’s Royalty and Specialist Protection Command (RaSP). Five armed protection officers have been temporarily removed from frontline duties while the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards investigates. A spokesperson for Sir Sadiq described it as “a very serious incident” and stated the Met “must now take all steps to ensure an incident like this never occurs again.”
The Public Safety Implications of Lost Police Weapons
The confluence of these events raises profound concerns for public safety and the integrity of the Met’s armed commands. Retired Detective Chief Inspector Mick Neville warned the MO19 losses would “further dent trust and confidence” in the force, citing an “element of sloppiness” and calling for an urgent audit. He noted the particular danger of the Clapham incident, given that gun crime remains prevalent in parts of south London, suggesting “too many villains would have been very pleased” to find the abandoned holdall.
The potential for lost or stolen police weapons to enter the criminal underworld is a clear and present danger. The Met’s own guidance stipulates firearms must be secured in locked boots or secure areas when in vehicles and hidden from view. Leaving them unattended on a public street is a fundamental breach of protocol. Furthermore, the loss of specialised ammunition is serious; the Met’s standard issue 9mm hollow point bullets are designed to incapacitate a target and are less likely to pass through and hit bystanders.
These incidents cannot be viewed in isolation from the cultural problems identified within the Met’s armed units. The landmark independent review by Baroness Louise Casey described a “deeply troubling, toxic culture” within MO19, where “normal rules do not seem to apply” and sexism was “in plain sight”. In the year following the report, internal conduct allegations against MO19 officers rose to 56, with formal action taken in only four cases.
This context of cultural failure may explain systemic carelessness. The Met has a recent history of significant equipment loss; in just 2019 and 2020, nearly 2,300 electronic devices including laptops and tablets were lost or stolen, raising alarms over sensitive data. While no Tasers were reported lost in 2023, the force did report 31 handcuffs and 4 armoured vests as missing that year, and one Taser was lost by a Constable in July 2021 and never recovered.
The Met’s armed commands have been under intense scrutiny, with officers from the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command – another armed unit described by Casey as a “dark corner” – involved in high-profile crimes. Furthermore, in September 2023, firearms officers threatened to hand back their weapons after a colleague was charged with murder, leading to a government review of armed policing. These episodes highlight the acute tensions between operational pressure, accountability, and the absolute requirement for flawless weapon security.
