LONDON: A police officer was arrested yesterday as part of an investigation into the discovery of ammunition in personal lockers in a police building on the grounds of Buckingham Palace, Scotland Yard said.
The officer, who has not been identified, is from the unit responsible for protecting the Royal Household and normally works in a protection role, although he is not assigned to guard any individual member of the Royal Family.
He is being questioned on suspicion of misconduct in public office and unlawful possession of ammunition, the Yard added in a statement.
The officer is in custody at a London police station and will be suspended from duty.
The ammunition was believed to have come from police supplies, the statement said. “The Royal Household is aware of the ongoing investigation and has been briefed on today’s development,” it added.
Notorious police killer to be freed after 50 years
LONDON: A British man convicted of killing three policemen nearly 50 years ago in “the most heinous crime for a generation” is to be released from prison, officials said yesterday.
The news that 78-year-old Harry Roberts, jailed for the murder of three police officers in 1966, was being freed was sharply condemned by London Mayor Boris Johnson and the body representing the capital’s rank-and-file officers.
Roberts and two accomplices were sitting in a van in west London preparing for an armed robbery when they were approached by three unarmed policemen, who they shot dead.
Roberts was jailed for life with a 30-year minimum, although the judge at the time said he did not believe he would ever be released and called it “the most heinous crime for a generation.”
Johnson said that Londoners would be “absolutely sickened” by the decision to release Roberts, while the Metropolitan Police Federation called the move “scandalous, hurtful and abhorrent”.
No exact date for his release has been revealed but it is expected to take place shortly.
Agencies
