A plan to expand the use of imperial measures has been abandoned because of fears it could be confusing, the Government said yesterday.
The Department for Business and Trade said a consultation on allowing shops to sell goods in pounds and ounces had generated little public support - and had raised concerns about the confusion and cost of running metric and imperial systems at the same time.
The decision means that most goods will continue to have to be sold by law using the metric system, apart from exceptions like pints of beer and milk.