Tasers to be trialled in Britain's prisons after 'unacceptable' spate of violent attacks on staff

The trial is part of Government plans to crack down on record levels of violence against prison staff, and includes the use of the electronic weapons on violent inmates in scenarios where there is a significant threat to safety, such as hostage situations or riots.

According to the Ministry of Justice, it will run until enough data has been collected to determine if Tasers should be more widely used.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: "I inherited a situation with completely unacceptable levels of violence."

She continued, saying she is "not willing to tolerate that" and is "determine to do everything [she] can to keep prison staff safe".

Mahmood added: "They have been asking for Tasers to be allowed to be used in our prison estate for years and years and years, and I'm very pleased to have been able to greenlight this trial."

The roll-out of Tasers for local prison staff across the UK will be examined as part of the trial - but Mahmood said she sees this as "very much the beginning".

The roll-out of the new trial comes as the rates of assaults on prison staff surged to record levels last year.

According to Government data, there were 10,496 assaults on staff in the 12 months to September 2024, a 23 per cent increase from the previous 12 months, and a new peak.

In April this year, Hashem Abedi, who helped plot the Manchester Arena bombings, attacked prison staff at HMP Frankland with boiling oil and homemade weapons during a planned ambush.

Four prison officers were injured in the County Durham jail, with three taken to hospital.

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Mahmood said: "The incident of Frankland has really forced the pace on further roll-out of these measures."

Southport killer Axel Rudakubana also allegedly attacked a prison officer at HMP Belmarsh in May by pouring boiling water over them.

Another incident saw a prison officer hospitalised after he was beaten with a kettle by an inmate, just five months after his ear was cut off whilst at work by a terrorist.

Unions have already been calling for officers to be given stab vests and protective equipment.

And in June, the Justice Secretary announced officers would be told to wear body armour at close supervision centres, separation centres and segregation unites in the highest categories of prisons in England and Wales.

Officers already have access to batons as well as Pava spray, a synthetic form of pepper spray, in men's prisons in the public sector.

In April, the MoJ announced Pava spray would be made available "in limited circumstances" to a select number of specialist staff at the three public sector young offender institutions.

The Taser trial is part of a £40million package which was announced last month to boost security across the prison estate.

This includes £10million specifically for anti-drone measures such as reinforced windows and new netting, according to the MoJ.

An MoJ spokesman added: "Officers will be subject to robust accountability measures, each deployment of a taser will be reviewed."

And while the Prison Officer's Association said it welcomed the move, it demanded the Government address the root of violence in jail.

A spokesman for the union said: "Violence in our prisons is out of control and apathetic prison managers would rather put the prison regime before the safety of their staff.

"We urgently need action to address overcrowding, understaffing, drugs and the other root causes of prison violence."