Boris Johnson’s water cannons which he bought for London but was never allowed to use are sold for scrap
Current Mayor of London Sadiq Khan sold the useless machines for just £11,000
BORIS Johnson was left humiliated yesterday as it emerged three unusable water cannons he bought as Mayor of London have been sold for scrap.
Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan has been forced to flog them to Reclamations Ollerton in Newark for just £11,025
It cements a net loss of more than £300,000 for the taxpayer.
Mr Johnson bought the crowd control vehicles from the German police in 2014 after the London riots.
He was then forced to splash out to repair more than 60 faults to make them roadworthy. Around £1,000 was spent on putting in stereos.
But the then Home Secretary Theresa May banned them from ever being used in England and Wales – following medical and scientific tests.
In a statement today, Sadiq Khan said: “For too long, London taxpayers have had to bear the brunt of Boris Johnson’s appalling botched water cannon deal.
“This has been another waste of taxpayers’ money by Boris Johnson. Londoners continue to live with his vanity.
“I’m pleased we have managed to finally get rid of them.”
Sources last night claimed ex-PM David Cameron had indicated he would allow the vehicles to be deployed before Mrs May’s intervention.
The Ministry of Defence has been trying to help sell them for the past two years – but no European authority wanted them.
Mr Khan’s offices said there was a “lack of interest from potential buyers”.
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A source close to Mr Johnson said: “Boris made tackling crime his number one priority when he came into office in 2008.
“During his time as Mayor he reduced the murder rate by 50 per cent and brought overall crime down by 20 per cent.
“This is a legacy the new Mayor has been sadly unable to match.”
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