Michael Fabricant: hates to hear mobile users "barking"

MP Targets "Irritating" Use of Mobiles

Michael Fabricant says the use of such phones in a public place is both irritating and rude.

He is introducing a Private Member's Bill which would bring in on-the-spot fines for people who use them in restaurants, railway carriages, buses and "other designated places".

Once the size and weight of a large brick, cellular phones were the exclusive use of yuppies in the 1980's. Then improvements in technology and cheaper prices led to widespread ownership.

But the way they are used now offends many people, not least Mr Fabricant: "It is the height of rudeness when people accept calls in the middle of a meal in a restaurant and start barking down their phones.

"It is a strange thing that as soon as people start talking into mobile phones they seem compelled to speak at three times the volume of normal conversations."

His bill is unlikely to become law. But the MP, who is an electronics engineer by profession, hopes to raise public awareness of the problem.

Already there have been calls for mobile phones to be banned in cars. The police and accident prevention campaigners believe it is dangerous to talk and drive at the same time, even on a hands-free mobile.

But the Government has no plans to introduce legislation to deal with this particular problem. It feels the present laws are sufficient. Under present rules, police can prosecute or issue fixed penalty notices to drivers who do not exercise proper control of their vehicles.