Senator's aide arrested over gun

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An aide to US Senator Jim Webb has been arrested for carrying a loaded gun and ammunition clips into a Senate office.

Phillip Thompson was held on charges of having an unregistered pistol after an x-ray of his bag revealed the weapon.

He said the gun and ammunition belonged to Mr Webb and had been inadvertently left in the bag, Capitol police said.

Mr Webb, whose election win in Virginia clinched the Senate for the Democrats, said he holds a permit in Virginia and believes in the right to bear arms.

The possession of firearms is strictly limited in the District of Columbia, where Mr Thompson was detained.

It remains unclear why he was carrying the bag containing the weapon and two full clips of ammunition into Congress.

'Dangerous time'

Speaking to reporters in Washington, Mr Webb described Mr Thompson's arrest on Monday as "unfortunate".

"I think this is one of those unfortunate situations where completely inadvertently he took the weapon into the Senate yesterday," he said.

Mr Webb - who has previously voiced his support for the Second Amendment, the US constitutional right to bear arms - said he believed public figures needed to be able to defend themselves.

"Since 9/11, for people who are in government, I think in general there has been an agreement that it's a more dangerous time," he said according to Reuters news agency, pointing out that not all Congress members get police protection.

"We are required to defend ourselves and I choose to do so."

While having a permit for a gun in Virginia, Mr Webb - who served in Vietnam - said he had not carried one into the Senate.

Mr Webb denied reports he had handed the weapon to Mr Thompson, saying he had been in Florida at the time of the arrest.

Police have said they do not believe Mr Thompson, reportedly a former marine, had any intention of using the firearm, media reports say.