Boris Admits Met Can't Use Water Cannon

8 December 2014, 10:37 | Updated: 26 August 2016, 15:21

London Mayor Boris Johnson has admitted to LBC that the Met's two water cannon are not licensed for use yet.

Mr Johnson kept saying he's sure he would be able to use them if they were needed, leading Nick to ask four times "Are they licensed?" before he eventually admitted they were not.

"So they're illegal to use?" asked Ferrari.

"That is correct," admitted Mr Johnson. "Should Christmas shopping in Oxford Street turn into a mini riot, or a maxi riot, or should there be any disturbance that - "

Ferrari pressed the Mayor again on why Theresa May had yet to license them. Johnson replied: "We have no reason to use them. Thank goodness we have no reason to use them.

"They're at a location that I cannot divulge for security reasons. They're in good shape, probably currently disguised as ice cream vans or something like that.

"Quite seriously, were the occasion to arise, were there to be public disorder of a scale where water cannons were necessary, there'd be absolutely no problem at all."

Mr Johnson then reminded Ferrari that they've agreed to be blasted by the water cannon as soon as they are licensed.

When the LBC presenter told Johnson he'd hoped to do it in the summer months, the Mayor replied: "Well that's an incentive for the Home Secretary to license them if ever I saw one."