Minister scraps plan for two-yearly MOTs

Safety campaigners had repeatedly attacked a move towards two-yearly inspections to cut red tape, warning it would lead to “many more” deaths on the UK’s roads.

Transport Secretary Justine Greening said yesterday she had decided to stick with the present system, which had been under threat in a review of red tape.

She set out a series of measures designed to improve the service offered by garages after official figures showed more than a quarter of tested cars had defects missed or wrongly assessed.

Among the suggestions are online review sites, expanding industry codes of practice to include MOTs, improving the information held on MOT certificates and sending in “mystery shoppers”.

“Our garages are crucial to ensuring that Britain’s roads continue to be among the safest in the world,” Ms Greening said. “Most are doing good work but the latest data shows that there is room for improvement.”

The executive director of consumer group Which? said the decision was “good news”, while AA president Edmund King said he was “delighted”.

Labour said the idea had been “insulting to motorists” and criticised the Government for persisting with it for so long.

Shadow Transport Secretary Maria Eagle said: “The Government’s decision to axe their reckless plan to cut MOTs is a victory for common sense.

“Ministers have again shown just how out of touch they are with motorists in Britain who said loud and clear that they value the reassurance that comes from knowing that cars on the road are subject to a regular MOT.

“It was insulting to motorists for ministers to have expected them to welcome a move that would have left 800,000 dodgy cars that are dangerous to drive on our roads.”