Armed man with assault conviction shared lift with Obama

President Barack Obama rode in a lift with an armed security contractor who had assault convictions, in another security lapse, the BBC reported.

It happened on 16 September when Mr Obama visited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

The incident came to light on Tuesday, hours after the boss of the Secret Service was grilled by Congress about a security breach at the White House.

A Secret Service official confirmed the incident but declined to comment.

The incident contravened a protocol that only members of the Secret Service are allowed to carry weapons in the presence of the president.

Tuesday's revelations led to calls from one senior US congressman for a "top-to-bottom" review of the agency.

The gun was found when the man was questioned by agents after taking a video of the president in the lift.

He was immediately sacked by his supervisors, who arrived on the scene shortly after the incident, reports said.