LONDON: The British government says it will investigate whether potentially faulty breast implants fitted by a French company pose a risk to women.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley on Saturday ordered the urgent review of the safety of silicon implants made by the now-defunct French company Poly Implant Prothese.

The implants were pulled off the market last year in several countries amid fears they could rupture and leak silicone into the body. Around 40,000 women in Britain have such implants.

British health regulators had previously said there was no need for women have the implants removed, but Lansley said the government has since received new data and decided to investigate.

He declined to give details of that new information.