Phill I have the same problem and I'm Vodafone UK like yourself.
Are you trying to use the full Google site, or the default mobile site? I'm just using the default mobile site.
All I do is type my search details in the top address/search bar and hit enter, then select Images from the top Google search bar. I click on an image and it opens, like it always has done.
Obviously you must have JavaScript enabled for this to work.
Strangely it's working ok now. I must admit I didn't recheck it before posting that yesterday, but do know that several times over the previous few weeks when I've tried it wasn't working properly.