water cannon at j18?

[Pickman's model]

i was reading the shitty guardian this morning when i came across this little gem:

In some of the worst public disorder since the 1990 Trafalgar Square poll tax riots, many people were injured as the police used water cannon and baton-charged up to 2,000 mostly peaceful demonstrators on horseback.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/19/city-protests-london-june-1999

leaving aside that there were many more people than 2,000 out on j18, i certainly don't recall water cannon there - is this, as i think, yet another example of shitty guardian journalism?

 

[jonH]

it may have been a typo I seem to remember water melon

 

[Pickman's model]

it may have been a typo I seem to remember water melon

yeh, that's more likely

 

[Paulie Tandoori]

no water cannon that i remember. a water hydrant was pulled off so everyone was drenched in water from that, my kids had a right laugh splashing about. not a good day overall tho, set up an approach from the plod that has become progressively more aggressive ever since really. they ran someone over with a police van by driving into the crowd at speed, something they'd also done in trafalgar previously when they tried to blame the protestors for, um, standing in the way....

 

[salem]

I don't know why it sits in my head. But I seem to remember Tommy Vance on the Eleven O'Clock Show, when he introduced the days stories making the joke along the lines of 'police scare hippies with soap and water' while showing footage of a water cannon being used on protesters.

Maybe the guardian journalist had been watching the same episode?

 

[butchersapron]

There's never been water cannon used in the Uk has there? Not sure they even have them.

 

[Rod Sleeves]

There's never been water cannon used in the Uk has there? Not sure they even have them.

That's what I thought. I wasn't at J18, but I never heard of a water cannon being there, and I've never seen one in the UK.

 

[editor]

This is the only water-based scene I recall from J18:

 

[el-ahrairah]

There was no water cannon used that day.

 

[detective-boy]

Not sure they even have them.

They have them in Northern Ireland (and have used them I think).

This is one of their's I think:

http://file041b.bebo.com/1/original/2008/06/26/16/4284331984a8132260077o.jpg

I think they can even temperature control the water (Human Rights, don'tcha know!)

Their kit is available to other forces if required and there are public order tactics involving their use ... but I don't think they have ever been used in the UK outside Northern Ireland.

ETA: Looks like the new Commissioner is musing on whether they should be used as a less dangerous/controversial alternative to kettling and horses and stuff http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6250732.ece. Can't see it myself - it may well be less likely to cause lasting harm than face to face confrontation ... but (just as with the Taser) the psychology / emotion / symbolism will mean there is a shit-storm of criticism if they are ever used. The only version the media would be happy with would be Dixon of Dock fucking Green on his bike with a Super Soaker (power-restricted, obv. ...)

 

[Blagsta]

There was no water cannon that I recall!

 

[London_Calling]

My understanding has been the UK doesn't use them (on the mainland) but manufactures and exports them to any regime with the cash.

 

[TopCat]

They are shit,run out of water quickly and get over run by angry crowds.

 

[moon23]

My understanding has been the UK doesn't use them (on the mainland) but manufactures and exports them to any regime with the cash.

Thats what makes us civilised

 

[DotCommunist]

Thats what makes us civilised

I wouldn't call the mets behavior at the recent G20 anywhere near civilized.

 

[likesfish]

generally things arn't allowed to get that out of order little use of petrol bombs nail bombs and other things that could go bang by rioters so little call for serious stand off hardware.

 

[selamlar]

No watercannon at J18 that I can recall, but there certainly were in Prague and Brussels for the World Bank demo shortly (a few years, actually?) after. That Brussels do was fucking freezing and the old water didnt help.