250 women to sue British clinics over silicone breast implants

It is thought between 40,000 and 50,000 British women have been given faulty implants which French experts say should be removed.
The PIP implants have been linked to a small number of cancers in France but tests here have shown no link between the material used and cancer.
The implants are filled with an unapproved gel and there have been reports that the protective barriers are faulty.
Women have been advised to have their implants checked and if they are worried they should consider having them removed.
The implants have burst causing complications and dozens of women have launched a group action against the clinics where they had surgery.


The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said that it had consulted with experts in nine countries over safety concerns surrounding the French-made implants.
But it said all had agreed that there was nothing to show that there was nothing to show that there is a heightened risk of the disease with the implants that were filled with a silicone gel believed to have been made for mattresses.
MHRA officials have spoken to health or regulatory experts from France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Denmark and Malta.
A spokesman from the Department of Health said: “They all agreed that there was no evidence of any increase in incidents of cancer associated with PIP breast implants and no evidence of any disproportionate rupture rates. This is in line with UK findings.’
New figures from the MHRA published last night suggest 84,300 of the implants, manufactured by PIP, have been sold in the UK since 2001.
Based on the assumption that each woman has two implants, an estimated 42,000 women in the UK could be affected, according to the MHRA.
But the figure could be higher because women undergoing breast reconstructive surgery following cancer may only have had one implant.
Data from the MHRA shows it has received 411 reports of PIP implants failing in British patients since 2001.
This would suggest around one per cent of women in the UK with PIP breast implants have suffered implant failure, including rupture, compared to a claimed failure rate of five per cent in France.