Location of Met Police’s controversial water cannons revealed in drone footage

The water cannon is understood to be held at a training facility near Gravesend

The location of the Metropolitan Police’s controversial water cannons has reportedly been revealed in drone footage at a training facility in Gravesend.

The footage, captured by BBC London, claims to show two of the three water cannons purchased by the Met two years ago.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson authorised the purchase of three water cannons from Germany two years ago, costing over £200,000. The Met were banned from deploying them 12 months later however, when Home Secretary Theresa May blocked them from being used in London due to the potential injury they could cause to people they would be used on.

The water cannons have since been kept for training purposes. The Evening Standard reports the cannons’ location has remained undisclosed with no media access to the machines.

A spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office said in a statement: “We have always been clear in public that we do not plan to comment on the location of the water cannons,” and stressed that it has always been made clear the water cannons are being maintained and used for training.

“Following the riots of 2011, the Commissioner made it clear that water cannon is a tactic he would want at his disposal in the event of a future emergency. This was a view supported by the Prime Minister, the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor, and 68 per cent of Londoners in independent polling. Purchasing the machines at the time we did was a sound decision which has saved London’s taxpayers millions of pounds.”

The Met Police have put the water cannons through “stringent testing” to meet its operational standards, a spokesperson said.

“Our officers occasionally travel to Northern Ireland to support their colleagues. This can require them to deploy alongside water cannon. As previously stated we will be retaining our devices to ensure our officers are properly trained for this eventuality.

“The Home Secretary has stated that in the event of future disorder the police would be free to reapply for a licence to use water cannon.”

A Met spokesperson told The Independent it is not discussing the location of the water cannons.