Theresa May humiliates Boris Johnson with water cannon announcement

In case the Labour leadership fracas has distracted you, there is still a Tory leadership contest going on, albeit with a slightly longer timetable. George Osborne has had a good week or so in terms of his chances of succeeding David Cameron when he stands down, and today his main contender Boris Johnson had a bad day.

Boris was sitting behind Theresa May in the House of Commons as the Home Secretary announced that she would not be giving permission for the Metropolitan Police to deploy three second-hand water cannons in London. The Mayor bought these cannons for £218,000. He pulled a range of unhappy faces as May announced that she would not allow police to use the cannons because they had ‘capacity to cause harm’. More faces were pulled as Yvette Cooper asked May to confirm how much the cannons had cost and whether they were in poor condition. Alex Salmond, who has no interest in this matter, even asked a question about the decision, teasing both Tories about their leadership contest rivalry.