Six months after expert testimony, no one has yet dialed into promised summit on technical solutions

MPs have blasted the UK government for complacency over surging mobile thefts after a "long-delayed" summit on the issue disappeared into the New Year.

In a letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Dame Chi Onwurah, chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, raised the prospect of families unwrapping new phones on Christmas Day – then being too scared to leave the house thanks to inaction from phone vendors and the government.

"While people may be worried about keeping their new possessions safe from theft on Britain's streets, it seems that the government is not nearly as concerned about the risks to property and privacy," she thundered.

A statement from the committee added that six months after it heard from experts, tech companies, and the Metropolitan Police about technological solutions to deter phone theft, "the government has still failed to act."

Onwurah had followed the evidence session with an October ...