Museum of London seeks to acquire water cannon trucks
The vehicles were ordered by Boris Johnson during his time as mayor
The Museum of London is considering plans to purchase water cannon trucks from the scrap heap for use in a forthcoming exhibition.
The three vehicles had originally been bought by Boris Johnson in 2014 during his tenure as mayor of London. They were intended to be used by the Metropolitan Police in case of disorder.
However, their use in the streets was ruled out a year later by the then-home secretary Theresa May and the units became an expensive white elephant.
Speaking to the Guardian, the Museum of London’s director Sharon Ament mentioned that she had previously made an informal enquiry about buying the water cannons but was unable to do so for legal reasons.
The museum intends the cannon trucks to be an added attraction, as it prepares to move premises from Barbican to Smithfield Market by 2021.
Ament added: “The water cannon says something interesting about how we police, or have chosen not to police, London.”
A Museum of London spokesperson said: “Many of our most interesting objects come from scrap heaps, indeed almost all archaeological finds are human waste of some sort. Whether it’s possible to salvage a part of the water cannon from the scrap yard has yet to be determined, but even a section of it could help to tell a complex story about policing in the capital, which forms an important part of our collection.”