Don't buy kiddies mobile phones, warns Prof

PROF SIR WILLIAM STEWART of the UK's National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) really is earning himself a reputation for attempting to lock the stable door after the horse has bolted. This time he's worried that children shouldn't really be using mobile phones too much.

This advice comes just 17 days after millions of parents have given their children mobile phones as presents for Xmas. Yet he's been investigating since 2000. According to The Guardian, Prof Stewart has admitted that, "I don't think we can put our hands on our hearts and say mobile phones are totally safe."

Stewart now advises parents not to give the phones to children under the age of eight while those between eight and 14 should use them only "when absolutely necessary."

Prof Stewart is aware of childrens' mobile phone habits and suggests that they spend more time texting than they do speaking with the handset next to their heads.

Stewart is, of course, famous for coming out with a report saying that the radio masts which mobile phone networks utilise might constitute a danger to small children only months after the UK government had extracted billions of dollars out of five mobile operators for 3G licences.

His view is to urge caution even when there is no 'hard' evidence that mobile phones can cause damage. The net effect is that masts continue to be erected near to schools - completely contradictory to his original advice. He now says the planning applications process needs to be looked at. Yet the UK's 3G networks have already been rolled out, although not 100 per cent complete.

The real dilemma is deciding whether mobile phones constitute a real threat like cigarettes or an imaginary threat as per the radiation threat to pregnant women from VDU screens in the 80s. µ