Scientists have revealed that a chemical found in the controversial PIP breast implants could harm unborn babies.
The findings dispute the original reassurances by the NHS medical director Sir Bruce Keogh who said that women should not be worried about the implants being toxic or carcinogenic.
The French-based consumer group Antidote Europe who have released the latest analysis says that the PIP implants - which had been fraudulently filled with industrial-grade silicone - contain 'a higher proportion than the norm' of a chemical which has been linked with causing damage to babies developing in the womb.
The co-director of the group, Andre Menache, and environmental scientist Dr Victoria Martindale claim that the implants' filling contained a chemical - D4 - (octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane) which was of 'high concern' because of its effect on the hormonal development of unborn babies.
"Considering these known risks and the fact that most women receiving breast implants were of reproductive age, we would expect the MHRA and the Department of Health to fulfill its duty of care and thoroughly investigate these risks as well as provide full information to patients," the organisation warned.
The new findings, which are published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, have been rubbished by the Department of Health, which says it stands by its original statements that the implants do not pose a significantly increased risk to the health of the 47,000 British women who have them.
A spokesperson for the NHS told Sky news: "We stand by the conclusions of the original report and want to reassure women that PIP implants do not pose a significantly increased risk to health. The well-being of women who have had PIP breast implants has always been our main priority."