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13
May
Ripon MP issues taser plea
Skipton and Ripon Conservative MP Sir Julian Smith has called for tasers to be more widely used in prisons following recent attacks on prison staff.
Southport child killer Axel Rudakubana is alleged to have thrown boiling water at a prison officer at HMP Belmarsh in London last week and Manchester Arena bomber Hashem Abedi is being investigated for attacking three prison officers at HMP Frankland in County Durham last month.
The incidents prompted Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick to say violence against prison officers has "spiralled out of control in just the past month".
Tasers are not widely used in prisons currently but their use is being trialled.
Sir Julian, whose constituency includes Pateley Bridge, raised the issue in an urgent question on prison staff protection in the House of Commons yesterday. He said:
Can I support the shadow secretary of state's request for accelerating the supply of stab vests, and can I ask the minister for more details on the government's thinking on the use of tasers. There is a long track record of taser use in the UK, and it would seem we could also accelerate the use of tasers in prisons as quickly as possible.
Justice minister Sir Nic Dakin replied to say he agreed the issue needed to be looked at as quickly as possible.
Sir Nic added the findings of trials this summer would inform future decisions regarding the use of tasers in prisons.
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