London mayor insisted on quick purchase to beat other contenders, but Germans reveal no one else made a bid

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Boris Johnson’s main reason for “rushing” the purchase of second-hand water cannon from Germany has been questioned after it emerged no one else had offered to buy them.

The London mayor’s administration said the machines had to be bought in a hurry because otherwise they could be sold to another bidder.

But German authorities say the British were the only ones who ever put in a bid.

The water cannon were bought in June and arrived before the home secretary, Theresa May, had authorised their use on Britain’s streets.

The three Wasserwerfer 9,000 water cannon were bought for £218,000 by Johnson’s Conservative administration on behalf of the Metropolitan police.

Besides the supposed bidding war risk, the purchase was said to have been rushed because any disorder was most likely during the summer. The home secretary has still not authorised their use, weeks after summer ended.

The new details emerged in a response to a parliamentary question tabled by a German MP.

A spokesperson for the German federal police said officials from France looked at the water cannon, but made no bid to buy them: “France had also expressed an interest in the Wasserwerfer 9,000 water cannon. A delegation from the French interior ministry were given a viewing of these vehicles at the federal police quarters in Sankt Augustin. A concrete intention for a purchase was not expressed. No water cannon were sold to private persons. The only sale was made to the Metropolitan police.”

Johnson has overall responsibility for policing in London, but it is carried out on a day-to-day basis by the deputy mayor, Stephen Greenhalgh. In September, Greenhalgh said: “There was a time-limited offer on the table from the German government and other parties interested in buying the water cannon. That is why we proceeded.”

Under questioning, Greenhalgh said he was told this by Met assistant commissioner Mark Rowley.

Andrej Hunko, a politician for Germany’s Left party, said: “London’s city council justified the hasty decision to purchase the vehicles with the claim that ‘another European police authority’ could otherwise get in first. I consider this a made-up excuse to justify the purchase to the public.”

Lady Jones, a Green party member of the London assembly, said: “We were told the mayor had to buy these water cannon before they were licensed because they were about to be snapped up by other interested parties. But now it seems no one else expressed an interest in buying them, so his argument rings hollow. Either the mayor got bounced into a panic-buy or the Met have pulled the wool over his eyes.

“Water cannon have no place on London’s streets and they should never have been bought.”

Some see Johnson’s decision not to wait for government authorisation as a slight to May, a potential rival for the future leadership of the Conservative party.

The handover of the vehicles took place on 30 June and they had to be refitted to the Met’s specifications.

The Met commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, said he wanted water cannon as an option in case of mass disorder, such as that which erupted in August 2011.

Critics say deploying water cannon on London’s streets is a move to a more military style of policing and their use will damage the image of the police. The Met is the only large force in Britain to want water cannon. They have previously only be used in Northern Ireland.

The Met has promised the machines will not be used until authorised by the home secretary.