Was The Home Secretary Right To Continue The Ban On Boris's Water Cannons?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3162480/Boris-humiliated-Home-Secretary-vetoes-using-water-cannon-blew-200-000-importing-German.html

/// The Home Secretary told MPs she would not lift the ban on police using water cannon because it it was too dangerous and would damage public trust. ///

And we can't have that can we? I mean the rest of the World will think we are getting tough on crime and it's perpetrators.

[Gromit]

// As a footnote.Should an occasion arise where water canon would prove their worth I have a feeling that Boris would sanction their use in the Metropolis and answer to the Home Secretary //

Boris does not have the power to sanction their use. The Met Police are answerable to the Home Secretary not the Mayor. Every Chief Constable knows that.

[Gromit]

Retrocop,

// The Met police purchased two Water Cannon some 25 years ago.One was kept at the Motor Driving School. Hendon for operational use in North London and training drivers/operators. The other was positioned in premises in S. London. //

Are you certain that the Police owned those? I have delved and cannot find any reference to them. They have never been legal on the mainland. I think the UK used to manufactor some of these vehicles, so perhaps they were there for evaluation, or they were training foreigners to use them in their countries.

[anotheoldgit]

whiskeryron

/// AOG, do I detect a little dissatisfaction with the workings & tactics of the glorious Tory party ? ///

That is one advantage of being a Tory, we feel free to criticise when criticism is due, unlike Labour who toe the party line no matter what.

A good example is the difference between the Left's press and the Right's press.

[Gromit]

// A good example is the difference between the Left's press and the Right's press. //

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Torygraph

[retrocop]

Gromit
I saw them.The one housed at MDS was for training and operational use. My collegeau in Traffic division who had pipped me to the post for my HGV licence was authorised and trained to drive them.
They were deliberately kept out of view of the public for reasons I needn't explain.
No I don't recall the MDS training other foreign police forces in their use. I recall Japanese officers being trained on police motorcycles.The instructor who was always asked to teach them actually learnt Japanese.The MDS trained some Royal Marines in anti ambush and hi jack evasion driving but no training on water canon as far as I know to foreign agencies.
I know who the Commissioner of the Metropolis is answerable to.
I am just commenting that mayor Boris is a bit of a maverick and loose canon (no pun) and nothing would surprise me especially as he is retaining them.
Don't think he want's them to water out of reach hanging baskets at City Hall do you?

[Bazile]

aog - You wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of 5000 psi , for riding your motobility scooter on the pavement , would you ?

[anotheoldgit]

mikey4444

/// LOL Ron, at 10:23 ! A Tory Home Secretary getting something wrong ?
Well I never ! ///

And we won't start on Labour Home Secretaries who got it wrong, or we will be on here for hours.

David Blunkett and Jack Straw to name just a couple.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/10445585/Labour-made-a-spectacular-mistake-on-immigration-admits-Jack-Straw.html

And then there was Charles Clarke's Foreign prisoners scandal.

/// On 25 April 2006 it emerged that 1,023 foreign prisoners had been freed without being considered for deportation. Among the offenders, five had been convicted of committing sex offences on children, seven had served time for other sex offences, 57 for violent offences and two for manslaughter. There were also 41 burglars, 20 drug importers, 54 convicted of assault and 27 of indecent assault. Former Home Secretary David Blunkett commented that "Heads should roll" over the scandal, despite the fact that many of the releases occurred during his period as Home Secretary.The Home Office later stated that 288 were released from prison between August 2005 and March 2006, which implied that prisoners continued to be released after the matter had been brought to the attention of the government.

[janbee]

This Home Secretary is NEVER right. 100% out of touch.

[retrocop]

janbee
Quite right. She should award police pensioners a 10% increase like they have themselves. :-)

[anotheoldgit]

Gromit

Just a couple of Anti-Cameron (anti-Tory) blame stories from today's Telegraph.

/// David Cameron 'knew British pilots were bombing Syria' ///

/// MoD admits UK personnel carry out Syrian bombings, despite Parliament not authorising action, by being embedded with allied nations - latest reaction ///

/// David Cameron wants a 'big conversation' about murderous seagulls killing pets and attacking people ///

/// Despite scrapping research into aggressive urban gulls, the Prime Minister said 'something must be done' after a seagull attacked and killed a dog in Cornwall ///

[anotheoldgit]

Bazile

/// aog - You wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of 5000 psi , for riding your motobility scooter on the pavement , would you ? ///

Why would I? no more than I would be lasered for doing so, since riding a mobility scooter on the pavement is entirely legal.

[anotheoldgit]

janbee

/// This Home Secretary is NEVER right. 100% out of touch. ///

/// The Home Secretary is to launch a major independent review into police crime and performance targets. ///

/// She wants to "bring transparency to where, how and why targets are being used, and analyse the impact of targets on police officers’ ability to fight crime". ///

/// She said: "Information is critical to management and scrutiny. But there is a world of difference between the proper use of data to manage performance and the improper use of arbitrary targets. ///

/// "A police force [was] allegedly so intent on meeting Home Office targets about car theft and burglary that it ignored hundreds of young girls being abused in Rotherham and Sheffield. ///

She has got to be right there.