Police officers will be given 10,000 Taser stun guns under new plans announced today.

Specially trained officers will be able to use the 50,000-volt weapons when faced with the threat of serious violence, the Home Office said.

But critics warned the weapons were "potentially lethal" and called for a review of the decision.

Oliver Sprague, Amnesty International's UK's arms programme director, said the use of the guns should be restricted to "life threatening" or "very dangerous" situations.

He said: "Amnesty recognises the very difficult job police officers have to do and we don't actually oppose the use of Tasers as long as it's by a limited number of highly-trained specialist officers, responding to genuinely life-threatening or very dangerous situations.

"Tasers are potentially lethal weapons which are already linked to numerous deaths in North America and that's why wide deployment without adequate training is a dangerous step too far for British policing.

The group said 300 people have died after being shot with Tasers in the US and Canada, where their use is more widespread.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she wanted to give police officers the tools to confront dangerous people.

She said: "I am proud that we have one of the few police services around the world that do not regularly carry firearms and I want to keep it that way.

"But every day the police put themselves in danger to protect us, the public. They deserve our support, so I want to give the police the tools they tell me they need to confront dangerous people.

Tasers deliver powerful electric shocks up to 10 metres away, leaving targets incapacitated and easier to arrest.

Last year non-firearms officers were given the weapons for the first time.

The Home Office trial with 10 forces found the threat of being Tasered was often enough to stop a violent incident.

Tasers were deployed on more than 600 occasions in the past year but only used 93 times, ministers said.

The new weapons will be given to all 43 forces in England and Wales.

The move was welcomed by the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), which said trials showed in the majority of cases Tasers helped police resolve incidents without resorting to other weapons.

Derek Talbot, Acpo spokesman on Tasers and assistant chief constable of Northamptonshire Police, told the paper: "This reinforces the value of Taser as a useful tool to make the public and officers safer and to resolve potentially violent situations effectively and rapidly.

"The conclusions of this trial provide further evidence that Taser is a proportionate, low risk means of resolving incidents where the public or officers face severe violence or the threat of such violence which cannot safely be dealt with by other means," he said.

A report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, released today, found that 35 complaints had been made against the use of Tasers since they were introduced in September 2004.

Of the 15 most serious investigated by the IPCC, the majority concerned the use of the weapons in the "drive-stun" mode, where the gun is fired at point-blank range.

The sharp barbs which carry the electric shock were fired directly at the head, chest, neck and shoulder blades of suspects, the report found.

Police guidance suggests Tasers should not be used in drive-stun mode against the head or neck unless "absolutely necessary" to save lives because of the "increased risk" of injury, the report said.

The police watchdog received a complaint from a man who had a Taser fired at his head from point-blank range, who said it caused him to suffer from amnesia.

Suspects have had to go to hospital to have barbs removed from their skin - one from his back and another his thumb.

A Metropolitan Police Authority spokesman said the force would not take up the offer of funding immediately because of the potential of Tasers to cause "fear" and "damage public confidence" in the police.

He said: "The MPA has no intention of immediately sanctioning any increase in the availability of Tasers to officers in the Met.

"The current arrangements in the Met are that only trained and supervised specialist officers may deploy Tasers, and were introduced after an extensive consultation and communication programme with London's communities.

"The MPA recognises the potential to cause fear and damage public confidence if the use of Tasers is extended to non- specialist trained police officers and is perceived by the public to be indiscriminate.

"The Authority scrutinises every incident during which a Taser is discharged. There is no doubt that in some circumstances Tasers are a very effective alternative to firearms or asps (metal batons) but their use must be tightly controlled and we have seen no case made out to extend their availability."