Police investigate how gun was left on child's bed after Belfast raid

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has launched an internal investigation into how a gun and ammunition were left on a child's bed after its officers raided a house in north Belfast. Following the arrest of a man suspected of dissident republican activity, the PSNI had to return to the home in the Ardoyne district to recover a gun belt including a pistol that was left behind in the operation. The 39-year-old man who owns the property has indicated through the Irish Republican Socialist party that he intends to make a complaint about the police blunder to the police ombudsman's office in Belfast. The PSNI said it was "treating the temporary loss of this equipment extremely seriously" and had started a disciplinary investigation into "the circumstances of the incident". The police said there were no children in the house at the time. The error is a major embarrassment for the PSNI, particularly at a time when it has been targeting suspected republican dissidents in a bid to undermine their violent campaigns aimed at destabilising power-sharing and peace in Northern Ireland.