Never-used water cannon bought by Boris Johnson to be sold
New London mayor Sadiq Khan said he was selling the three water cannons bought by Boris Johnson last year without ever having been used.
Khan said the money from the sale of the 25-year old water cannon bought for £218,205 from Germany would go towards towards youth services in the city.
“One of the deals Boris Johnson managed to do with the Germans was to buy three water cannon. What I’m going to do is sell them and use the money for youth services," he told a state of London debate.
“This shows the inability of Boris Johnson to get a good deal: second-hand, paid almost a quarter of a million pounds. We want to get rid of them. We are paying for storage facilities for these water cannon – that beggars belief.”
It comes after a year Home Secretary, and current Tory leadership candidate, Theresa May blocked the deployment of the water cannons by any police force in England and Wales to the humiliation of Johnson.
May pointed out there were no fewer than 67 faults that needed to be dealt with before they could be used.
Johnson and the Metropolitan Police said they were disappointed by May’s decision and the cannons were used for training purposes only.
Johnson told MPs last year he saved about £2.3m if he had the bought water cannons new and it was backed by David Cameron, the Prime Minister.
May reminded everyone of Johnson’s purchase on Thursday as she launched her Conservative Party leadership campaign, when he was considered a contender.
“Boris negotiated in Europe. I seem to remember [the] last time he did a deal with the Germans, he came back with three nearly new water cannon.”
Johnson bought the water cannons for the police after the summer riots in 2011. Water cannons have never been used in Britain apart from in Northern Ireland.