SENIOR Tory Robert Jenrick has backed arming prison officers dealing with violent inmates with lethal weapons.

The shadow justice secretary said today that Britain's approach “around Islamist extremists and violent offenders in jails” was too soft.

“Give them Tasers, give them stun grenades, give them baton rounds and give them access to lethal weapons,” he told Sky News.

Following attacks by high-profile inmates, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has ordered a snap review into whether stab vests should be used more routinely.

A trial in which specialised officers dealing with serious incidents will be armed with Tasers is due to start this summer.

Officers already have access to batons and Pava spray, a synthetic form of pepper spray, in men’s prisons in the public sector.

A Labour Party spokesperson said that Mr Jenrick “is once again being totally dishonest about the Conservatives’ dire record in a desperate attempt to distract from the crisis they left behind in our prison system.”