A bodyguard assigned to protect former British prime minister David Cameron has been suspended after he left his gun in a toilet on a commercial flight.
The Glock semi-automatic pistol was found by a passenger before take-off on the British Airways flight from New York to London, causing a delay and scaring passengers, reports said.
The officer had also left Cameron's passport in the toilet.
The overnight flight landed at Heathrow airport yesterday.
"We were waiting to take off when a guy started to show pictures on his phone of a gun and two passports - one was David Cameron's - he said he'd found in the toilet," The Sun newspaper quoted one passenger as saying.
"They were just resting on the side by the sink."
Scotland Yard said it was investigating.
"We are aware of the incident on a flight into the UK on February 3 and the officer involved has since been removed from operational duties," a spokeswoman said.
"We are taking this matter extremely seriously and an internal investigation is taking place."
Former British prime ministers are automatically entitled to 24-hour armed protection.
Mr Cameron was prime minister from 2010 to 2016, stepping down after the Brexit referendum in which he had campaigned to stay in the European Union.
It is not the first time a toilet-related Cameron mix-up has resulted in something important being left behind.
In 2012, he accidentally left his eight-year-old daughter at the pub following a misunderstanding with his wife.
Nancy Cameron wandered off to the toilets while her parents were arranging lifts from the pub, and the couple only realised she was missing once they got home.
