Britain's new Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday banned the use of mobile phones at cabinet meetings in a bid to ensure his top team stay focused on the challenges facing them, his spokeswoman said.

英国新任首相大卫·卡梅伦的一位女发言人日前称，卡梅伦于本周四提出禁止内阁成员在开内阁会议时使用手机，以确保新政府集中精力应对当前挑战。

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Britain's new Conserative Party Prime Minister, David Cameron (C) speaks during the first Cabinet meeting of the new Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition Government, in 10 Downing Street, central London.

Chairing his first meeting of the cabinet, Cameron told senior ministers from his Conservative party and their coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats³, that the distraction⁴（注意力分散，消遣） of mobiles would not be welcome.

The new team faces the daunting⁵（使人畏缩的） task of implementing⁶（实现，实施） public spending cuts to reduce a record budget deficit⁷, while ensuring Britain stays on the road to recovery following a deep recession.

Politicians here have come to rely on mobile technology such as BlackBerrys so much that parliamentary authorities now allow their use in the House of Commons main debating chamber⁸, albeit⁹（即使，虽然） silently.

Newly-installed Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke became the first to break the rule, drawing a rebuke¹⁰（非难，谴责） from Cameron at the inaugural¹¹（就任的，开始的） meeting of top ministers.

To laughter from the rest of the cabinet, the prime minister ordered him to cut short a telephone conversation so he could get down to the business of running the country.

Cameron has not spared himself from the ban, added his spokeswoman.

He brought his cabinet together for the first time Thursday, after forming a coalition government earlier in the week by striking a deal with the Lib Dems following polls on May 6 that failed to produce a clear winner.