Why is Boris announcing his support for water cannon on Budget Day?

At today’s Mayor’s Question Time Boris Johnson announced his support for purchasing water cannon in London. For him to announce such a significant way to how the capital is policed is typical of Boris trying to bury controversial news. He will write to the Home Secretary asking her to licence the use of water cannon. I challenged him at this morning’s meeting and he failed to explain his decision, to make matters worse he admitted that he didn’t even bother to read the reports that challenged the use of water cannon. The cross-party London Assembly Police and Crime Committee, which I chair, examined the use of water cannon in detail. The Mayor is obliged to read the report we produced, but today he admitted he didn’t. This is symptomatic of his slapdash approach to his day job.

The Mayor is planning on buying three retired German water-cannon at a cost of up to £300,000 within weeks. The London Assembly recently voted against the purchase of water cannon by all Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green AMs, along with several Conservative members. I’m deeply concerned that the Mayor is rushing the purchase of water cannon without a proper public debate. There is still confusion over the reasons behind the purchase of water cannon and exactly how the process of their deployment will work.

The Met Police have identified 3 instances in the last 10 years when they may have used water cannon. Boris says he would have not wanted to see them used in at least one of those situations, the 2010 student protests. Following these protests the Mayor told the London Assembly:

“It is certainly my view -that we are not instinctively in favour of ratcheting up the panoply of implements of crowd control in this city. This is a free city which has a great tradition of free speech. We do not want to see any kind of arms race with protestors. At the moment there are no plans to go, for instance, for water cannon.”.

Boris wants three old German water cannon as an ‘interim solution’ ahead of the government’s decision on their long-term use across Britain. It’s not clear why the Mayor and the Met believe they need water cannon by the summer. The recent Association of Chief Police Officers report said there was “no specific intelligence” that disorder was anticipated.

The Metropolitan Police’s own review into their response to the August 2011 riots “Four days in August” stated: “It is the opinion of this review that had it been available for use, it would have been considered as a tactical option during this disorder. However it is unlikely to have been an appropriate and practical option owing to the speed and agility of the disorder.” See page 121 here.

Since 2010 we’ve lost 3,111 police officers and 2,279 PCSOs. Water cannon are no substitute for a visible uniformed presence on our streets. The Mayor is trying to bounce this decision through in a matter of weeks and Londoners are being given virtually no chance to express their views. Such a monumental shift in policing needs a proper public debate, and for Boris to announce this on Budget Day – when it will not get the coverage it merits – goes to show how little he values Londoners.

Joanne McCartney AM is the London Assembly Labour Group Police and Crime spokesperson