Calls have been made for the Government to intervene in Glasgow’s move to become the first city in the UK where officers on the beat carry Taser guns, according to the Scottish newspaper The Herald.

Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Robert Brown has challenged the decision by Steve House, chief constable of Strathclyde Police, to pilot a £45,000 scheme that will equip officers with the weapons.

Strathclyde aims to counteract the 4,000 assaults on police officers every year, but Mr Brown said the Scottish Government should follow the UK model, where the Home Secretary approves the use of stun guns for individual forces.

He said: “Taser use in Scotland’s police forces should be a policy issue and not an operational issue as the current First Minister seems to think. He and his Government must step up to their responsibility and make sure those who are deployed with Tasers have training.

“The current scheme being piloted by Strathclyde Police, where they have armed 30 police officers with Tasers after only three days’ training, seems to be a decision that has only been taken by the chief constable.

“It certainly wasn’t a decision made by the police board and even less so by the Scottish Government.”

Across the UK, the use of Tasers, which immobilise offenders with an electroshock, is limited to specialist units that tackle violent disorder.

Concerns have been raised by Amnesty International in Scotland that rolling out the use of the stun guns to officers on the beat will mean they are used with less caution and expertise. There is no evidence that Tasers have led to any deaths in the UK, although the organisation said that Taser shocks had been noted as a cause or contributory factor in 50 deaths in the US.

Under the pilot scheme in Glasgow, due to start in April, officers will be given a three-day Taser training course.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill told Holyrood yesterday that the use of stun guns was an operational matter for police and should not be decided by ministers, adding that Tasers were “accepted and proportionate” weapons for police.

He added: “They are used to try and negate the requirement to use proper firearms. These are operational matters.”

Mr Brown disagreed, saying: “In England, it is the Home Secretary that signs off use of Tasers among police forces and we want to see this happen in Scotland. Blasting someone with 50,000 volts should be a last resort and should only be carried out by officers who have had proper firearms training.”

The Taser pilot will run in Glasgow city centre, Rutherglen and Cambuslang, force areas where high levels of assaults on police have been recorded.

Mr MacAskill added: “To suggest the Government should be giving direction to a police force is something I would have opposed in opposition and would not seek to bring in.”

A spokesman for Strathclyde Police said: “Extending the use of Taser to non firearms officers should not be viewed as a replacement for any of the existing safety options that operational officers are equipped with; rather it should be looked upon as an additional tactical option that has unique capabilities.

“As with any use of force, the use of Taser must always be shown to be measured, justified and proportionate.”