First minister Alex Salmond has dismissed claims by human rights group Amnesty International that a Scottish stun gun trial is illegal.
The charity had claimed Strathclyde Police’s Taser trial was in breach of European law and should be ended immediately.
They argued that governments have a duty to issue guidelines on the use of weapons.
However, Mr Salmond said as Tasers are classed as firearms, all legislation relating to them is reserved to Westminster.
“I don’t agree with the legal advice,” he said.
“Scottish ministers, at present, have no power to issue guidance on the use of firearms, including Tasers, since the matter is reserved at present.
“Of course, one of the areas of cooperation that may emerge very soon in this Parliament is to press for the devolution of responsibility on such matters, indeed the full devolution of powers for firearms.
“There’s widespread agreement of that across Scotland. If we can find agreement in this Parliament then, of course, the legal position might well change.”
Mr Salmond added, “The deployment of Tasers is an operational matter for chief constables. The purpose of the pilot in Strathclyde is to test the effective use of Tasers by specially trained officers.
“Our police are highly professional, we do trust them to make sound judgements on the use of Tasers, taking into account, of course, concerns for community safety and human rights.”
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