PM hands over revolver (plus pack of 6 bullets) following bizarre NATO gift pack

In keeping with the lunacy of the times, this week’s NATO summit saw all world leaders presented with a personalised hand gun, and a pack of six bullets. Portugal’s Luís Montenegro – once he became aware of the unexpected gift – handed it straight over to this Personal Security Corps – according to Lusa, “for forensic analysis”.

The ‘love’ that President Trump said that he could feel ‘in the room’ at the summit, clearly did not affect Luís Montenegro’s sense of protocol. He was not travelling home to Portugal with a handgun, and six bullets.

British prime minister Keir Starmer had a similar reaction. Even though the engraved gun came with a letter from the Turkish president, waiving export controls, it would not have satisfied Britain’s strict gun laws, and thus he was “forced to leave it with officials at the British embassy (in Ankara) to be decommissioned”, writes the Telegraph.

Not so, the prime minister of Belgium, who happily travelled home with his gift box, perhaps believing it contained Turkish Delight. Reports say he “couldn’t quite believe it” when he opened his box on the runway of Melsbroek military airfield – and once he and his team had given themselves proverbial slaps around the face, the gun was removed to a police vault where it will stay until the Belgians have decided what to do with it.

Mr Montenegro’s gun was smartly removed to the PSP police’s ‘Weapons and Explosives Department’, writes Lusa, “where the necessary forensic analysis will be carried out to determine the applicable legal provisions” a source from the prime minister’s office informs.

Other heads of government have acted roughly along the same lines – albeit no one appears to know what Donald Trump has done with his personalised handgun.

Source material: LUSA/ Telegraph

Natasha Donn

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.