THE British Medical Association (BMA) has called on the Government to outlaw completely the use of hands-free and hand-held mobile phones in cars. In a new report, it concludes that hands-free phones constitute more of a danger in cars than any perceived radioactive threat, and nearly as big a danger as driving with a phone to the ear.

As a result, the BMA wants the Government to change its guidance to: 'Never use a hands-free phone while driving.' The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents welcomed the report. 'RoSPA knows of at least 16 cases where mobile phones have been implicated in road deaths. That may well be the tip of the iceberg,' said a spokesman. RoSPA makes no distinction between hands-free and to-the-ear mobile phones.