Ministers drop plan to outlaw Botox 'cowboys'

Ministers have quietly dropped a pledge to clean up Britain's booming Botox industry.

Public concern over botched beauty-enhancing treatments such as Botox and collagen implants led an expert working party to conclude that cosmetic clinics should be officially licensed.

The findings were formally accepted by the Government two years ago but will not be included in an overhaul of medical regulations to be published this week. Instead ministers are expected to argue that large areas of the cosmetic treatment industry - worth £225m a year - should be subject to self-regulation.

While rules governing cosmetic surgery are being tightened, those covering more minor procedures are not. It means unregulated medics can continue to hold so-called "Botox parties" in hotel rooms without fear of being inspected by the Healthcare Commission, the independent watchdog of standards in the private sector.

Ministers have also waved away expert concerns that the use of live tissue in artificial fillers could leave patients vulnerable to the brain disease new-variant CJD.

The U-turn is causing dismay among reputable clinics offering cosmetic treatments and charities such as Changing Faces, a support group for the facially disfigured.

James Partridge, its chief executive and a member of the Department of Health's Cosmetic Surgery Steering Group, said he would be "very disappointed" if ministers dropped any of the proposed regulations.

But a senior Whitehall official has confirmed that the Chief Medical Officer has all but lost a battle with ministers over the issue.

Sir Liam Donaldson wanted to ensure that patients attracted to the booming cosmetic industry for non-surgical treatments should receive the same protection as those wanting operations such as breast enhancements. Supporters of the regulations cite cases such as that of Marie Humphreys, 50, an actor living in south London, whose Botox treatment left her with a permanently shocked expression.

"I went to a doctor with a clinic in Harley Street to have my first dose of Botox, back when the treatment was just starting to come in, and he made me look like Mr Spock," she said. "My eyebrows were raised all the time and my face was completely frozen."

But ministers are under pressure to reduce red tape and are nervous of being accused of increasing the burdens on medical staff when they announce a major overhaul of medical regulation this week. They claim cases like that of Ms Humphreys are too rare to justify full-scale regulation.

A DoH spokesperson said: "The DoH is still considering the form of regulation that would provide the best approach for both treatment providers and their patients and will publish further information in due course."

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