More police to be armed with Taser guns

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Use of the controversial weapons will no longer be limited to trained firearms officers and the circumstances in which suspects can be stunned will be widened.

A 12-month trial will extend use of Taser to specially-trained units who are not authorised firearms officers and to authorised firearms officers where the criteria to use firearms does not apply.

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More police are to be armed with Taser guns

Moves to extend use of the high-voltage weapon were first proposed by former Home Secretary John Reid in May.

Previously, Tasers could only be used by specially-trained firearms officers confronted by an armed person.

From tomorrow, firearms officers will be able to use them if they face severe violence or threats - not just if they are confronted by someone with a weapon - and need to use force to protect the public, themselves or the subject.

Meanwhile, a 12-month trial will extend Taser to specially-trained units who are not authorised firearms officers for use in similarly violent circumstances.

The trial will run in the following forces: Avon and Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, Gwent, Lincolnshire, Merseyside, Metropolitan Police Service, Northamptonshire, Northumbria, North Wales, and West Yorkshire.

Proposals to extend use of the weapon were sent to a special committee by the Home Office for medical assessment.

Mr McNulty said the Defence Scientific Advisory Council Sub-Committee on the Medical Evaluation of Less Lethal Weapons had confirmed that "the risk of death or serious injury from Taser remains low".

"All Taser deployments will continue to be monitored and a detailed report of every deployment will be produced," he added.

More than 3,000 of the devices, which temporarily disable a suspect by delivering a 50,000-volt shock, have been distributed to special firearms officers since their introduction in 2003.

Amnesty International has opposed use of the US-manufactured weapons, claiming they can be lethal.