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UK police investigate after officers left guns outside mayor’s home

LONDON (AP) — London police are urgently investigating how armed protection officers guarding Mayor Sadiq Khan left a bag of guns outside his home.

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement late Friday that five officers had been removed from front-line duties while inquiries were being carried out.

The weapons cache, which according to The Sun newspaper included an MP5 semiautomatic Heckler & Koch ­carbine, a Glock pistol, Taser and ammunition, were found in south London Tuesday by a couple, who then informed the Metropolitan Police.

Scaffolder Jordan Griffiths told the newspaper that his girlfriend found the bag by the curbside and said that he was in “shock” after discovering what was inside.

“I could not believe my eyes and took some pictures as proof of what we had found,” he said. “I called the police and told them what I had found and within a few minutes they turned up to collect the guns.”

The police Directorate of Professional Standards is reviewing what happened and confirmed that five officers have been removed from front-line duties.

“We are urgently reviewing the circumstances of this incident and recognize the concern it may cause,” it said in a statement. “At this stage it is believed the bag was misplaced by on-duty officers a short time before the member of the public located it.”

A spokesperson for the mayor said the police “must now take all steps to ensure an incident like this never occurs again.”

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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