Metropolitan Police

(asked on 25th June 2015) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the Home Secretary expects to decide whether to authorise the Metropolitan Police to use, under appropriate operational circumstances, the water cannons that the Mayor of London has purchased; and whether this decision will be made before the water cannons become usable.


Answered by
Lord Bates Portrait
Lord Bates
This question was answered on 30th June 2015

A key element of the established process for the approval of less lethal weapons, including water cannon, is an assessment by the Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less-Lethal weapons. This has only recently been received. There are a number of scientific, medical, operational and ethical issues which need careful consideration.

The authorisation process states: “only less lethal weapons that have been approved by the Secretary of State may be used by the UK police service.” The Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime and the Metropolitan Police have stated that the water cannon would not be used until, and unless, they are authorised for use by the Home Secretary.

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