Get ready for this coming Sunday, when a text message will appear, accompanied by a loud alarm, on millions of UK mobile phones. The message will say: ‘This is a test of Emergency Alerts, a new UK government service that will warn you if there’s a life-threatening emergency nearby.’ Phone users will not be able to use their mobiles until they acknowledge receipt of the alert, although it is possible to opt out beforehand.
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Advocates of the Emergency Alerts system claim that it is necessary for the nation’s safety. Oliver Dowden, the minister in charge of the new scheme, said last week that ‘getting this system operational with the national test means we have another tool in our toolkit to keep the public safe in life-threatening emergencies.
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