Mr Huhne,

I am writing having read of your call for: “an in-depth inquiry into the use of TASERs before they become commonplace on British streets”.

I strongly support what you are asking for. I would like to suggest that one way of furthering that this element of Liberal Democrat policy is enacted would be for you to encourage Liberal Democrat members of police authorities to ensure that police authorities make the final decision on any expanded TASER deployment. Part of that would involve making sure members of Police Authorities are properly briefed with the information they require to make such a decision, the outcome of the inquiry you are calling for would form a key part of that briefing.

I live in Cambridge where the city’s only elected member on the Police Authority is a Liberal Democrat, yet he has failed to ensure the expanded TASER deployment is discussed by the Authority. He has written to me to express the defeatist point of view that: “passing a motion at the CPA would achieve little”.

I have pointed out to him that this is a strategic matter with the potential to massively change the nature of policing in the UK and therefore firmly within the remit of the authority. I have also drawn his attention to a statement by Vernon Coaker the Home Office Minister of State for Policing, Crime & Security who has said: “the number of Tasers that a force has is not dictated centrally. It is a matter for individual chief constables, with their authorities, to determine what they should have”, this I believe makes the role of Police Authorities very clear.

If you are serious about the Liberal Democrats operating as a political party, acting consistently across the UK then I think you ought be providing guidance to your party members on police authorities on how they can best further the Liberal Democrat’s aims. As long as you are saying one thing, and my local Liberal Democrats in positions of power and influence are doing another I am not going to be able to consider the Liberal Democrats as a credible party.

It is not just TASERs, other elements of your civil liberties campaigns could be effectively be fought in Police Authorities, for example I observed a recent authority meeting where the expansion of the Contact-Point database was discussed; it was being promoted by Conservative and unelected and unaccountable independent members without effective opposition from the Liberal Democrat member.

I included most of the points I have made in the above article and added:

It strikes me that as a member of Cambridgeshire Police Authority you are in a good position to attempt to enact Liberal Democrat national policy on a local level here in Cambridgeshire and ensure that the Police Authority properly investigates the use of TASERs before it makes a decision on their proposed expanded deployment.

I also pointed out

You also stated in your last email [to me] that: “there is no intention to deploy TASERs routinely”. The routine arming of all response police is exactly what the Government is proposing (*), and is providing the weapons to enable(*). If Cambridgeshire police have made a decision that they have no intention to deploy TASER routinely that is something I would welcome, and think ought be publicised. Could you clarify if Cambridgeshire police have made any such statement, and if they haven’t - on what basis you believe “there is no intention to deploy TASERs routinely”.