Bodyguard of Former British Prime Minister Leaves Gun on Plane

Being legally licensed to carry a firearm aboard a plane is one thing.

Leaving it there is another.

An unidentified bodyguard for former British Prime Minister David Cameron left a loaded Glock 19 semi-automatic pistol in a plane’s bathroom late Monday.
The firearm, along with Cameron’s passport, was found in the lavatory of a British Airways flight at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

The flight was heading back to London Heathrow Airport.

Moments after a fellow passenger found the gun resting on the side by the sink in the toilet, the incident was confirmed to the rest of the plane.

“A few minutes later the captain came into our section and confirmed a gun had been found—which freaked everyone out,” a 33-year-old businessman said. “He tried to calm everyone down by explaining that the law allowed handguns on planes for protection officers and that the gun was back with the bodyguard.”

But that didn’t satisfy at least one passenger.

”But a guy wasn’t having it. He said he felt uncomfortable about guns being allowed on the plane,” the man said. “The captain left and came back a few minutes later to say the gun had been removed from the plane.”

The flight took off more than an hour behind schedule. The officer from the Royalty and Specialist Protection unit has been suspended, London police confirmed.

“We are taking this matter extremely seriously and an internal investigation is taking place,” the force said in a statement.