Taser guidelines

You report that Strathclyde Police's six-month scheme, which issued 30 ordinary police officers with the electroshock weapons, may be illegal (18 May).

Five years ago the then first minister, Jack McConnell, abdicated his responsibilities and invoked a "Sewell Motion" to introduce Tasers in Scotland – without proper debate or rules of engagement.

Rather than bleating about the BBC's unbalanced election reporting, the SNP government should review the legislation immediately and produce proper guidelines if Tasers are to be used in Scotland.

Clearly such guidelines are much needed, as the first use of the device, on 24 November, 2005, was during an incident at a Texaco garage in Newmains, Lanarkshire. Surely, discharging a 50,000-volt device near a petrol filling station is not the most sensible thing to do in the world.

MICHAEL N CROSBY

Muiravonside

By Linlithgow