Boris Johnson’s policing deputy has refused to apologise for spending more than £200,000 on three water cannon that may never be used after the home secretary refused to authorise the weapons.
Theresa May said the three Wasserwerfer 9000s – purchased from Germany – were found to have no fewer than 67 faults that needed to be dealt with before they could be used when she rejected Scotland Yard and City Hall’s case for deploying them on London’s streets.
Confronted on Tuesday by members of the London assembly police and crime committee, Stephen Greenhalgh, who as deputy mayor for policing signed off the purchase on behalf of Johnson, said buying the cannon was a “sound decision”.
“The price of purchase then showed exceptional value to the taxpayer,” Greenhalgh said. “I make no apology. It was a sound decision, a good decision. It was value for money.”
May told MPs last week her decision followed exhaustive medical and scientific tests leading her to conclude the German cannon had potential to cause serious injuries including spinal fractures, that there were doubts over their usefulness in fast-moving riots and that they were likely to damage the British tradition of policing by consent.
Members of the committee questioned Greenhalgh on why the cannon were bought before authorisation was given.
He insisted that all 67 faults raised by the home secretary had been fixed and the water cannon were now safe and would be used to train Metropolitan police officers who may be called on to man them in Northern Ireland.
May cited the case of a 66-year-old Stuttgart resident who was blinded during a protest by a similar model of water cannon to those bought by the Met.
The decision is a deep humiliation for Johnson, who believed that with David Cameron’s backing he could persuade May to approve his request.
He was left holding on to the hope that the home secretary may issue a temporary licence for their use in the event of serious riots in London despite the lack of official authorisation.
