HEALTH officials in the UK are carrying out a review of evidence about the risks from faulty breast implants fitted by a French company.

Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) closed last year after an investigation revealed it was using cheap industrial silicone. French authorities have since recommended that women have the prosthetics removed because of fears over rupture.

Health officials in the UK have not yet followed suit and both countries say there is no link to cancer from the implants. But the UK Health Secretary Andrew Lansley yesterday announced that a review of data on the issue is being carried out.

"We've seen conflicting evidence and, in particular, yesterday we received information from one of the large private providers of cosmetic surgery that said they now had data they had not previously disclosed to the regulator," he said, adding that he was concerned by the data. "If there are any safety concerns, we will act."

Around 40,000 women in Britain are believed to have had silicone implants made by PIP.