The Scoop

Water cannon could be on London streets within 18 months

Adam Bienkov | Wednesday 22 May, 2013 14:27

Water Cannon could be on the streets of London within 18 months, it emerged today as Boris Johnson described them as a “nuclear deterrent” against rioters.

Officially, the use of water cannon is still being considered by the Home Office.

However, correspondence seen by this blog, reveals that the Metropolitan Police and the Home Office are actively seeking to acquire the weapons as soon as possible.

According to a letter from Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, the police are even seeking to hire the machines from abroad in order to speed up the process.

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson today backed the decision to acquire water cannon.

He told the London Assembly:

“I think there might be circumstances where the threat or even use of water cannon might be valuable. I think it is vanishingly unlikely that we would actually deploy them but to have that option is valuable just as it is vanishingly unlikely that we will face a nuclear attack from North Korea, but we might as well have the ability.

Johnson was previously opposed to the use of water cannon, saying that they would be a restriction on free speech and lead to an “arms race” with protesters.

However, his new Policing Deputy Stephen Greenhalgh is in favour of their use, and has told the police that they are a “very effective” tool against protesters.

Last week it emerged that Metropolitan Police officers are already being trained on the use of water cannon in Hampshire.

The Home Office has final say over the licensing of water cannon in the UK. However, Johnson today insisted that that he would also have to sanction their use.

“I would be very surprised. I could tell you categorically that I cannot believe for one second that any commissioner of the Met would dream of using water cannon on the streets of London without having the sanction of the Mayor. I think there is not the smallest chance of any a water cannon being used on the streets of London without it being sanctioned by this place. That is completely inconceivable.”

Labour today accused the Mayor of allowing the police to “drift away from policing by consent.”

Leader of the Labour Group on the London Assembly Len Duvall AM said:

“We all know Boris’s eye is wandering to his next job, but the erosion of policing by consent must not be snuck through by securocrats, just because Boris can’t be bothered to pay attention to what’s happening on his watch. It is unclear whether Boris or the Home Secretary has the final say if water cannon are to be deployed. This situation must be clarified and the public must be allowed a say on their potential use.”

Green Party London Assembly Member Jenny Jones today criticised the Mayor for allowing millions to be spent on water cannon when the Mayor did not intend for them to be used:

bq.“It seems ludicrous that the Mayor is willing to pay for three water cannon, each costing £1.3m, and then the training of thousands of officers and yet he does not seem willing to use the weapon. We know the Met wants water cannon and is willing to use it. The public need to know when and in what circumstances the Mayor would agree.”

A spokesperson for the police said that discussions over the deployment of water cannon are still ongoing.

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