EU rules forced Britain to accept faulty implants, say UKIP

Local UKIP Euro-MP Paul Nuttall has described the Government’s attempt to pass on the blame and costs of faulty PIP breast implants as “wrong.”

In supporting the position of the private health clinics who are arguing that they are not ultimately responsible for the health care nightmare faced by tens of thousands of British woman, UKIP reveals where the ultimate responsibility lies.

Mr Nuttall, UKIP’s consumer health spokesman, said, “The blame is not with the clinics, nor is it with the British regulators – the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

“The real responsibility lies in a combination of regulatory failure in France, and then EU laws that prevent British authorities from protecting British consumers.

He added, “Under EU law the national regulatory authorities can grant their own companies and products a CE (European Conformity) mark, which provides a guarantee of quality. EU law then forbids the MHRA from conducting further checks.”

The French authorities did finally shut down PIP, but not before 40,000 British women had been fitted with these faulty implants. The MHRA is forced, under EU law, to permit the import and marketing of any device which bears a CE mark, even though it has no direct jurisdiction over the manufacturer.

Mr Nuttall added, “I am writing to the European Commission to demand that in the future British authorities be allowed to make quality control border and spot checks on imported CE marked products, in order that they can in future do their job and protect the interests of British consumers.

“I am also calling on the Government to require the French authorities to provide compensation that will allow private clinics to remove and replace implants without being driven to bankruptcy through no fault of their own.

“Financial responsibility should rest where moral responsibility lies.”

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