Johnson leaves taxpayers with loss on unused water cannons
Machines deemed illegal sold for scrap for £11,000
Taxpayers have been forced to swallow a £0.3m loss on three water cannon bought by Boris Johnson while Mayor of London.
Johnson's successor Sadiq Khan on Monday said the trio of unused vehicles, acquired by Johnson for potential use on his electorate, had been sold for scrap for £11,025.
Purchased from the German police in 2014 for £85,000, Johnson failed to check that they could be used on London's streets. Theresa May, then the Home Secretary, put him down more efficiently than the cannon by banning their use in England and Wales.
Khan has been trying to find a buyer for the mothballed vehicles since then with the help of the Ministry of Defence, with no joy.
“The length of time they took to sell was due to lack in interest from potential buyers, including the UK government and overseas authorities,” he said in a statement.
Costs incurred by the Johnson spiralled to an additional £0.24m to bring them up to scratch. In total it cost more than £0.32m to purchase, fit-out and repair the redundant vehicles.
The water cannon will now be scarrped by Reclamations (Ollerton). The sale proceeds would be spent on towards frontline youth and community services, Khan said.