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An armed royal protection officer who lied about dropping a bullet in the grounds of Buckingham Palace was caught out by CCTV, it is alleged.
PC Stephen Cotgreave had been on foot patrol when the magazine fell from his police-issue firearm.
He picked up the storage device and replaced it but one round of ammunition was missing, the Metropolitan Police will claim at a gross misconduct hearing for Cotgreave.
The incident happened on December 6, 2022 the day King Charles had an egg thrown at him in Luton before returning to the palace with Camilla to host an evening reception alongside the Prince and Princess of Wales.
A notice for Cotgreave’s two-day disciplinary hearing starting on November 18 reads: “At the end of his shift, PC Cotgreave returned the firearm to the armoury where it was found that one round of ammunition was missing.
“When asked if anything had happened which could explain the missing round, PC Cotgreave said that he could provide no explanation and denied dropping the magazine.
“CCTV subsequently showed how the round was lost.”
Cotgreave, based within the Met’s Royalty and Specialist Protection command, is accused of breaching standards of professional behaviour in respect of honesty and integrity to a gross misconduct level.
The force says his conduct, if proven, is so serious it justifies dismissal.
The Met was approached for further comment.
On the night Cotgreave allegedly lost his bullet, Charles attended the annual white tie Diplomatic Corps Reception with William and Kate, who wore a red jewelled gown and a tiara originally worn by the Queen Mother.
Earlier that day, Harry May, 21, hurled an egg at the monarch – the second such incident in less than a month.
May, of Moreton Road, Luton, told a court that he thought the monarch’s visit to a “poor area” was in “bad taste”.
In January last year, he pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to a Section 5 public order offence, was fined £100 and ordered to pay £85 in costs.
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