A scientist has lost a test case which he hoped would force manufacturers and retailers to put health warnings on mobile phones.
Roger Coghill, of Cwmbran, Gwent, brought three charges under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 against a phone shop and its owner, claiming there were doubts over the safety of mobiles.
Magistrates in Abergavenny dismissed all charges.
The owner of Mobile Communication Services Ltd, of Cwmbran, faced two charges – one of failing to comply with the general safety requirement of the act and another of supplying a faulty phone.
Wayne Morgan’s shop faced a separate charge of failing to comply with the safety requirement.
Mr Coghill, 58, of Coghill Research Laboratories in Pontypool, launched the case “out of concern for the public’s health and safety”. He said he spent more than £20,000 privately bringing the case to court.
During the two-day hearing, he said that mobile phones could cause serious health damage including cancer.
He said he wanted mobile phone manufacturers to place health warnings on devices alerting customers to the possible danger of long term use.
Dr Alistair McKinlay, of the National Radiological Protection Board, said there was no scientific evidence to justify phones carrying warnings but that more research was needed. Dr McKinlay said: “This is a global issue, it is not just an issue for Abergavenny, or the UK, it is an important issue and it has to be assessed in a scientific sense globally.”
After the hearing Mr Coghill said: “Mr Morgan has been acquitted but the mobile phone industry is still in the dock. It is only a matter of time before the biological facts catch up with our technology. In the interim some people will suffer from the failure to put warning signs on hand sets.”
Mr Morgan said: “I am pleased for the industry that we can now breathe a sigh of relief and we can sell our phones legally. Until we have definitive proof it is all pure speculation and we should leave that to the scientists.”