Britain’s ‘999’ emergency number set to stay says Rochdale Euro MP

Date published: 16/03/2006

Britain’s ‘999’ emergency telephone number is set to stay despite claims that it was to fall foul of new EU rules.

Speculation that EU bureaucrats were trying to force Britain to replace the number with a standard ‘112’ across Europe has been dismissed as ‘nonsense’ by Rochdale Euro-MP Chris Davies.

The EU’s Information Commissioner, Viviane Reding, has confirmed that there is no pressure for change.

In a Parliamentary answer to Chris Davies she writes:  “The Commission has not proposed and never had the intention of proposing the withdrawal of national emergency numbers such as 999 in the UK.”

The Commissioner said any moves to replace national emergency numbers with 112 could only be made by individual countries.

A standard emergency number of ‘112’ was introduced across the EU in the 1980’s. It was designed to operate alongside national emergency numbers - such as our own 999 - and allows anyone requiring emergency help when abroad to speak to an operator in their own language.

Last November, former Tory leadership candidate Liam Fox caused added to the confusion when he condemned any changes to Britain’s emergency number.

He slammed the ‘plan’ as “a piece of unnecessary intrusion into our national life” and claimed any change would be unnecessary and potentially dangerous”.

Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Davies says politicians and other commentators should check their facts before jumping on the eurosceptic bandwagon.

He said:  “There has never been a threat to our emergency number and while eurosceptics may wish to spread their false claims at every opportunity, they should get their facts straight before causing confusion.”

The Liberal Democrat MEP says the way in which the issue has been distorted explains why opinion polls show that people are the least informed in Europe about EU decision-making.

Mr Davies said:  “I wish eurosceptics would check their facts or bother to find out the truth before making wild anti-EU accusations.  It doesn’t help that some newspapers have a deliberate agenda to portray the European Union in the worst possible light.”

Although 112 has been in use in Britain since 1993, BT estimates that fewer than 5% of emergency callers use it.