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Greens branded 'mad' after calling for police to give up Tasers and pepper spray

A Green Party motion proposing police ditch Tasers and pepper spray, described as 'lethal tools,' has drawn fierce opposition from former officers who call the plan 'incredibly reckless' and a threat to public safety. The motion also includes scrapping the Prevent programme and cutting police funding.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 1 article Version 1 Coverage Aug 24, 2026 Published 23h ago

Green Party motion to scrap Tasers and pepper spray draws sharp rebuke from former officers

A motion put forward by a Green Party working group proposing that police officers stop using Tasers and pepper spray, which it labels 'lethal tools,' has sparked anger among former police officers who say the plan would undermine public safety.

The motion, drawn up by the party's crime and justice working group, also calls for the government to strip funding from policing, prisons, and surveillance, and to scrap the Prevent counter-terrorism programme. According to the motion, the party also wants to end police presence in schools and work towards closing all prisons 'through systemic obsolescence.'

Former officers react

The proposals have been met with strong criticism from several former officers. Lucy Hutley, a former detective constable with Essex Police, said the plan was 'absolutely insane' and gave criminals and terrorists a 'free pass to conduct a reign of terror' in the UK. She added that even her 14-year-old considered the idea ridiculous, and asked how officers would be expected to protect themselves without access to CS spray or Tasers.

Stuart Henderson, who spent 28 years serving with the Metropolitan Police Service and in Hampshire, stressed the importance of Tasers and CS spray in keeping officers safe. He said officers need these tools to protect themselves and the public.

Kul Mahar, a retired superintendent with Derbyshire Police, described the proposal as 'incredibly reckless.' He noted that the police service is still recovering from a period of underfunding, a factor he said should be taken into account when considering changes to police equipment.

Kerry Snuggs, who has served as a special constable for four years and in a regular role in HR for 17 years, said the proposal is 'out of touch with policing.' She stressed that officers need lawful, proportionate, responsible force options to do their jobs safely.

Context to a decision

The motion was drawn up by the Green Party's crime and justice working group, which is chaired by Zack Polanski. There is no set date for a vote on the motion at a party conference, and there is no indication of when members might debate the proposal.

How this outlet told it

Daily Express as of Aug 24, 2026, 3:15 PM UTC

Framing: Highlights former police officers' reaction — 'blast', 'insane' — and omits that this is a policy proposal with a formal process and conference vote still to come. — Alarmed/condemning — officers quoted using language like 'reign of terror', 'insane', 'incredibly reckless'.

Facts Included:

A motion drawn up by the Green Party's (Zack Polanski's) crime and justice working group demands police ditch Tasers and pepper spray, branding them 'lethal tools'
The motion would strip cash from policing, prisons, and surveillance, and scrap Prevent
Quotes from Lucy Hutley, former detective constable in Essex, including her 14-year-old considering the idea ridiculous and her comment that it gives criminals and terrorists a free pass
Quote from Stuart Henderson, who served in the Metropolitan Police Service and Hampshire for 28 years, about Taser and CS spray keeping officers safe
Quote from Kul Mahar, retired superintendent with Derbyshire Police, describing the decision as 'incredibly reckless' and noting the police service is recovering from underfunding
Mentions the deaths of PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, in Cleveland after a car drove the wrong way on the A66
Quote from Kerry Snuggs (special constable four years, Hampshire regular 17 years) saying the proposal is 'out of touch with policing' and officers must have lawful, proportionate, responsible force options
No vote date, no Green Party conference timing, no named Green Party politician, no prison 'systemic obsolescence' aim

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimA motion drawn up by the Green Party's crime and justice working group demands police ditch Tasers and pepper spray, branding them 'lethal tools'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via Daily Express as of Aug 24, 2026, 3:15 PM UTC, LBC as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:17 PM UTC
ClaimThe Green Party motion would also strip cash from policing, prisons, and surveillance, and scrap the Prevent programme.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via LBC as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:17 PM UTC, Daily Express as of Aug 24, 2026, 3:15 PM UTC
ClaimThe motion would end police presence in schools and work towards closing all prisons 'through systemic obsolescence'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via LBC as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:17 PM UTC
ClaimLucy Hutley, former detective constable in Essex, said even her 14-year-old considered the idea ridiculous, and that it gives criminals a free pass.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Daily Express as of Aug 24, 2026, 3:15 PM UTC
ClaimStuart Henderson, who served in the Metropolitan Police Service and Hampshire for 28 years, said officers need Tasers and CS spray to keep them safe.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Daily Express as of Aug 24, 2026, 3:15 PM UTC
ClaimKul Mahar, retired superintendent with Nottingham Police, described the proposal as 'incredibly reckless' and noted the police service is still recovering from underfunding.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Daily Express as of Aug 24, 2026, 3:15 PM UTC
ClaimThe police officers PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were killed in Cleveland when a car driving the wrong way on the A33 collided with their vehicle.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via Daily Express as of Aug 24, 2026, 3:15 PM UTC, LBC as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:17 PM UTC
ClaimKerry stuck, a special constable for four years and a regular officer in HR for 17 years, said the proposal is 'out of touch with policing' and stressed that officers need lawful, proportionate, responsible force options.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Daily Express as of Aug 24, 2026, 3:15 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 1 article consulted: Daily Express 8 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-24