Peter Rhodes: Switch off, get in

AFTER this week's health news and the revelation that our Trident missiles might not be entirely fail-safe, do we really need a nuclear deterrent? Surely the missiles could be adapted to scatter upon our enemies a lethal cargo of burnt toast and over-roasted potatoes.

IT was, of course, quite wrong for police in Bristol to Taser a man who turned out to be one of their own race-relations advisers. However, the video of the incident also teaches us if you are stroppy and unco-operative enough, you drastically increase your chances of being Tasered by a flustered or panic-stricken officer. The law is complicated. In some circumstances you are obliged to give the police your name and address if requested. In other circumstances you need not. But isn't the best policy to be as helpful and co-operative as possible with cops at all times – especially if they're toting Tasers? It's a simple choice, either a friendly little chat or 50,000 volts up your armpit.

HOW the BBC works. We discovered a few weeks ago that BBC News had been told by a source before last June's referendum that the Queen was in favour of quitting the EU. But the story was never used because the Beeb was unable to stand it up with a second source. The impression was created that the Corporation was a hugely professional and responsible organisation which did not report events unless it was absolutely sure of the facts. And then this week the BBC reported a claim that more than £8 million is missing from Gambia's state coffers following the departure of the former President Yahya Jammeh. The report ends: "Mr Jammeh has not commented and the BBC has not independently verified the claims." Hang on. So it is okay to report an unverified claim involving a foreign head of state but not our own? It is all rather odd.

YOU may have seen this week's report of Betty the cat who was stuck up a power pole in Gloucestershire for 24 hours before being rescued by a team of firefighters and electricity workers. This will come as no surprise to readers of the new Ladybird range of books for grown-ups which includes How It Works: The Cat. This useful little book explains how cats use their claws to get up trees but require a Dennis Rapier XL fire engine and full crew to get down again.

ISN'T it amazing how quickly the system can operate when it chooses? For years the cops have complained that they don't have the resources to nick people driving while using phones. And then some of us hacks pointed out that it was dead easy. We now learn that in a nationwide crackdown on the offence, police caught mobile-users at the rate of 50 per hour and handed out nearly 8,000 tickets in a single week. Another blitz started this week. Actually "blitz" is too grand a word. Nicking these offenders is as easy as shooting fish in a barrel

NO tears, please, for drivers who have been caught. It is very simple. When you get in the car, switch off the mobile.