Tasers and ammunition have gone missing in yet another Metropolitan Police blunder just days after a holdall containing weapons was left on a street near the London Mayor’s residence in Clapham.
Scotland Yard’s specialist firearms unit reported the disappearance of three Tasers, with two of the 50,000-volt stun guns still unaccounted for.
MO19, the force’s armed response command, also permanently lost two Taser cartridges over the five years leading up to April 2025.
Additionally, 25 rounds of ammunition, comprising 9mm and 5.56mm bullets, went missing over the same period.
These revelations emerge less than a week after armed officers from a different Scotland Yard unit, the Royalty and Security Protection Command, abandoned a holdall containing weapons on a street near the London Mayor’s residence in Clapham.
A pregnant woman stumbled upon the abandoned bag on a kerbside in south London late on Tuesday evening.
Noticing the luggage appeared unusually heavy, she returned home to fetch her partner, Jordan Griffiths, for assistance.
The scaffolder initially suspected the weighty holdall might contain coins. Upon opening it, however, he discovered an arsenal of police-issue weaponry.
One of the tasers has gone missing (file pic)
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Inside sat an American-made Heckler & Koch MP5SF A3 semi-automatic carbine capable of firing 800 rounds per minute.
An Austrian Glock 17 pistol loaded with at least ten rounds was stored in a leather holster alongside the rifle.
The bag also contained a Taser stun gun in a nylon holster and additional ammunition.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed a member of the public contacted them at approximately 9.40pm after finding the holdall. Officers arrived within seven minutes to retrieve the items.
Sir Sadiq Khan’s spokesman described it as ‘a very serious incident’
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Mr Griffiths described his disbelief at the discovery. “I could not believe my eyes and took some pictures as proof of what we had found,” he told The Sun.
He immediately contacted the police, who arrived within minutes to collect the weapons. “When they arrived they were really shocked. They looked through the bag carefully and hurriedly took them away,” he recounted.
Officers informed him the holdall had been left by one of Sir Sadiq security detail. Mr Griffiths expressed concern about what could have happened had the weapons fallen into different hands.
He said: “I hate to think what might have happened if any of the people in Clapham had found that bag. It could have been mayhem.”
The Met Police has said it is ‘urgently reviewing the circumstances of this incident’
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GETTYWhen he enquired about a potential reward, officers offered him “a bag of sweets” in response.
Retired Detective Chief Inspector Mick Neville warned the MO19 losses would “further dent trust and confidence” in the force.
He said: “It seems like an element of sloppiness has crept into the Met’s firearms unit”, calling for “an urgent audit.”
Mr Neville also noted that gun crime remained prevalent in south London, adding that “too many villains would have been very pleased” to discover the holdall outside the Mayor’s home.
Five armed protection officers have been temporarily removed from frontline duties while the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards investigates the Clapham incident.
A spokesman 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”.
Sir Sadiq receives round-the-clock armed protection from approximately 15 officers following repeated threats to his safety.