Stun guns should be made more widely available and distributed among frontline officers, a police union has insisted.

The Metropolitan Police Federation (MPF) wants officers to have access to Tasers, and believe they should be in police cars at least.

The wider deployment of the guns, which administer shocks of about 50,000 volts, is being obstructed by factions within the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) who believe the weapon could damage community relations, according to the MPF.

Since 2003, when Taser was introduced within the Met, there have been no complaints from the public about their use.

Nor have there been any medical emergencies, despite predictions from groups such as Amnesty International.

Currently, the weapons are only held by Territorial Support Group (TSG) teams, officers of which are already hailing the benefits of Taser.

One TSG inspector said: “It has dramatically altered our way of dealing with violent individuals. No longer are we looking to go mob-handed into a situation to ensure that we detain a person. Now we can control a situation and deal with it with fewer numbers.”

Paul Deller, chairman of the constables branch of the MPF, said it was especially important that frontline police officers in outer London boroughs were trained in their use because central London’s TSG units were further away.

An MPS spokesman said: “There are currently no plans to extend the use of Taser within the MPS beyond authorised firearms officers and the TSG.

“Any decision the MPS takes to increase the number would be taken following consultation with the MPA to ensure we have community support.”

This is despite a Government pledge last year to provide £8m for an additional 10,000 Tasers for police forces.