£10m probe into safety of phones

A new £10million study into the safety of mobile phones was announced today amid fears over long-term risks.

A senior government adviser today admitted scientists were still in the dark about the effects of using the handsets for more than a few years.

Professor Lawrie Challis conceded that children could be at particular risk.

The Mobile Telecommunications Health Research committee, set up by the Government, plans to study long-term exposure, focusing on possible links with conditions such as cancer and Alzheimer's disease.

In the past, Professor Challis, who was behind a government investigation last year which concluded there was no clear evidence of a mobile phone risk, has played down safety fears. But in the Daily Telegraph newspaper today he admits there is a black hole in scientific knowledge about the long-term effects of using mobiles. He said the committee's five-year international study could begin next year.

There are more than 47million mobile users in the UK. Up to 25 per cent of primary school children have handsets while 90 per cent of 11 to 16-year-olds have one.