Northern parties respond differently to first use of Taser gun

The North's political parties have given differing reactions to the use of a Taser gun by the PSNI for the first time.

The device, which delivers a 50,000-volt shock, was used in Derry over the weekend against a man who had locked himself into a house with his two young children.

The DUP says such weapons are a necessary tool in the fight against crime, but their use is opposed by the SDLP and Sinn Féin.

SDLP leader Mark Durkan says he recognises that the police sometimes find themselves in difficult and dangerous situations, but Tasers are not the answer.

Amnesty International, meanwhile, says the evidence shows that vulnerable people can sometimes be killed by Tasers.