112? Nein, nein, nein!

A very British emergency, a very British response.

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European bureaucrats are pushing to force Britain to drop our 999 emergency number and replace it with the German equivalent, 112.

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In a breathtaking display of arrogance, European Commissioner Viviane Reding, right, said she was "willing to make full use of the Commission's powers to force through the change."

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Brussels is determined to impose 112 as the standard emergency number across the continent of Europe and has threatened to take Britain to court unless we speed up the changeover in this country.

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The new number is up and running in all 25 member states and Brussels freely admits that the ultimate aim is to phase out 999 as soon as possible.

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Britain invented the concept of a universal emergency telephone number and 999 was introduced on June 30, 1937.

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In 1982, Brussels decided that all EU nations should adopt 112, the emergency number which Germany had been using since only 1973. Italy later followed Germany and when the decision was taken in 1982, they were the only countries using 112.

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112 has been in use in Britain since 1993, in tandem with 999. However, British Telecom estimates that at most only five per cent of emergency callers use 112 - might we be so bold as to suggest that possibly those few calls which are using 112 are probably made by overseas visitors?

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The Automobile Association refuses to publish the number 112, for fear of causing confusion amongst motorists that could endanger lives in an emergency situation.

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A European Commission spokesperson said: "Although public awareness of the existence of 112 is growing, more could be done to publicise it. If Britain fails to do so, it could be taken before the European Court of Justice and fined."

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It does not take a genius to realise that people calling for help are likely to be in a panic - one would not be calling if it wasn't an emergency after all. The very last thing such people need is to have to consider a number change and to have to stop and think about what to do.

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Dialling 999 in emergencies is instinctive to the British; changing it at this point will undoubtedly do more harm than good and could even cost lives.

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Ms Reding, we have a message for you - 112? Nein, nein, nein!

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Which service do you require? A very British one!