Met plans £800,000-a-year rollout of deadly tasers

The budget for taser training will be £817,864 per year once they have been rolled out to Bromley, Kingston, Harrow, Barking and Dagenham and Enfield.

This is the first stage of a two-part process that will eventually involve equipping and training each of London's 32 boroughs to support two response vehicles carrying tasers 24 hours a day.

The disclosure comes as a result of a question put to the mayor of London's office for policing and crime by Green AM Jenny Jones.

Ms Jones said: "Last October police in Lancashire tasered a 61-year-old blind man after mistaking his white stick for a samurai sword.

"That case, along with many others, shows the problems of the widespread adoption of tasers. I fear the rollout will increase the risk of mistakes happening in London, making people less safe."

The Met put "real restraints" on taser use because of their danger, she said, but "sadly" the Met commissioner and mayor's office have made it clear they intend to expand their use.

The Metropolitan Police Authority, before its abolition, had opposed the wider use of tasers to non-firearms officers because of concerns that an increase in their deployment could weaken public confidence in the police.

But "sadly, Metropolitan Police Commissioner (Bernard) Hogan-Howe, and the mayor's office for policing and crime have made clear their intention to expand their use," she said.