§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Caroline Flint)Five police forces have been trialling the use of Taser since April 2003 on a strictly limited basis. In the light of the results of the trial, I have authorised chief officers throughout England and Wales to deploy Taser for use in the same strictly limited circumstances. Chief officers can now make the M26 Taser available to authorised firearms officers in their force as a less lethal alternative for use in situations where a firearms authority has been granted in accordance with criteria laid down in the ACPO manual of guidance on police use of firearms.
The Defence Scientific Advisory Council (DSAC) sub-committee on the medical implications of less lethal weapons (DOMILL) was invited to provide a second statement on the medical implications of the use of the M26 Advanced Taser. The DOMILL statement confirms that the risk of death from the M26 Taser is very low. I have placed a copy of the statement in the Library of the House.