National policing lead for armed police Deputy Chief Constable Simon Chesterman,said:

"The percentage of occasions when the Taser is actually fired has not increased since its introduction in 2003 and I believe this is evidence of the extensive and consistent training which the police in the UK have implemented.

"Officers are trained to use Taser to deal with violence or threats of violence and they are individually accountable in law for the amount of force they use.

"Analysis of the figures shows that on average Taser use by these officers is very infrequent. When it is used, on 75 per cent of occasions it is not fired and its mere presence acts as an effective deterrent.

"In December 2008 the Home Secretary allocated additional funding to support the extended roll out of Taser. In the region of 5,500 additional Tasers were purchased and during 2010 and 2011 these were provided to forces and a training programme saw a significant increase in the number of Taser officers.

"This increase in availability accounts for a corresponding increase in the number of Taser uses during this period.

"Taser use is subject to a high degree of oversight and scrutiny and all uses are recorded and reported to the Home Office."