Gunman Raoul Moat was a police informer

[Jan Klimkowski]

As was clear back in July, an unauthorized Taser Xrep, deployed from a 12-gauge shotgun, was used on Raoul Moat.

Looks like this couldn't be whitewashed, so the supplier has been designated as the scapegoat:

Raoul Moat death: Taser supplier loses licence

Pro-Tect was licensed to supply Tasers to Home Office for testing but not to supply them to police, Home Office says

September 28, 2010

The company that supplied the Tasers used by police in the standoff with Raoul Moat has been stripped of the right to supply the weapons, the Home Office said today.

The home secretary, Theresa May, revoked Pro-Tect Systems' authority to supply the weapons after it "breached its licence" by supplying a type of Taser direct to police before it had been granted approval to do so.

Pro-Tect Systems was the only company licensed to supply Tasers to police, but the Home Office moved quickly to insist it would ensure police forces had sufficient supplies.

Armed police fired two Tasers at Moat in an "effort to stop him taking his own life" in the Riverside park area of Rothbury, Northumberland, during the early hours of 10 July, the inquest into the gunman's death was told.

The standoff with the 37-year-old former nightclub doorman brought to an end one of the biggest manhunts in British history.

Moat shot and wounded his former girlfriend, 22-year-old Samantha Stobbart, killed her new boyfriend, Chris Brown, 29, and blinded 42-year-old PC David Rathband before being cornered by police.

Northamptonshire constabulary carried out the inquiry into events surrounding the gunman's death.

"Enquiries following the Raoul Moat operation revealed Pro-Tect breached its licence by supplying X12 Tasers direct to police that were only available for supply to the Home Office science and development branch," a Home Office spokeswoman said.

"The inquiries carried out by Northamptonshire police also revealed the company breached rules governing the secure transport of the devices and ammunition.

"Faced with these breaches, the home secretary has decided to revoke Pro-Tect's licence to supply Tasers."

The X12 Taser, fired from a 12-gauge shotgun, was being tested by the Home Office before being approved for use by police forces in England and Wales.

The spokeswoman said police had not been at fault for accepting the Tasers.

Pro-Tect was the only supplier of Tasers in the UK, and a Home Office spokeswoman said companies would be invited to bid for the right to distribute the weapons in future.

In a letter to the Commons home affairs select committee today, the crime prevention minister, James Brokenshire, said short-term authority had been granted to allow Pro-Tect to dispose of its remaining stock of the weapons.

"We are working with Acpo [the Association of Chief Police Officers] to ensure that police forces continue to have adequate Taser stocks cover any transition period that may follow from Taser International identifying a new UK supplier," Brokenshire said.

The minister said the powers that allowed Pro-Tect to import and sell Tasers were "subject to strict conditions regarding transfer and secure transportation".

"The home secretary was not satisfied that the company had complied with them at all times," he wrote.

Brokenshire said May was satisfied that Pro-Tect had supplied the Tasers to Northumbria police and one other police force "contrary to their authority, which only allowed them to supply these items to the Home Office scientific development branch, who were evaluating their effectiveness".

A Northumbria police spokeswoman said she was unable to comment due to the ongoing investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission into the sequence of events on the night of Moat's death.

An IPCC spokesman said: "The licensing of private companies to distribute firearms is a matter for the Home Office.

"The IPCC has no remit over private companies. Our investigation is looking at the acquisition, use, operational authorisation and deployment of the XRep Tasers from a police perspective. This investigation is ongoing."

Pro-Tect Systems was not immediately available for comment.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/sep/28...rm-licence