However the official line is still that high doses are bad for health.

June Kelly reports for the Six O'Clock News

Nick Brown, the new minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, announced on Thursday that proposed regulatory action was to be deferred pending consideration of the whole issue of vitamin supplements by the new Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals.

The group is not expected to report for at least 18 months.

Ministers had planned to limit the daily dosage of vitamin B6 in food supplements freely available over the counter to 10 milligrammes.

But the agriculture select committee advised last month that plans for strict limits should be dropped, and called for a voluntary limit of 100mg per daily dose to be introduced instead.

Millions take supplement

At present three million Britons take daily doses of Vitamin B6 up to 200mg. Two million women use the vitamin in high doses to combat pre-menstrual tension, alleviate morning sickness and the side-effects of the pill.

Scientists argued against restricting sales to public

More than one million men take it to fight stress and increase energy. B6 is also used in conjunction with magnesium to treat autism.

The original government plans were based on advice from an expert Department of Health group, the committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment.

It recommended that an excess of Vitamin B6 could damage the nervous system, leading to a loss of sensation in the hands and feet and permanent nerve damage.

Flawed study

But critics claimed the conclusion was based on a flawed scientific study.

A group of 218 scientists and doctors sent a letter to all MPs, claiming that B6 was safe at daily doses of up to 200mg, and that no significant health problems had emerged despite several decades of widespread use.

More than 100,000 letters have also been sent to MPs by consumers complaining about the government decision, and a lobby group called Consumers for Health Choice has spearheaded a campaign of opposition.

Consistent principles

Nick Brown: plans on hold

Mr Brown said: "We need to establish a consistent set of principles for ensuring the safety of all food supplements containing vitamins and minerals.

"We continue to rely on the assessment of the science provided by the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment and I pay tribute to that committee and its chairman.

"We shall therefore be advising the public to limit intakes of vitamin B6 from food supplements to no more than 10mg a day, unless otherwise acting on professional advice." The main task of the expert group will be to establish a framework of scientific principles to assess the safety of vitamins and minerals, but it will also advise on the toxicity of individual vitamins and minerals.

Campaigners claim victory

Campaigners said they were disappointed that their fight had not yet come to an end but claimed the decision as a victory.

Sue Croft, director of umbrella campaign group Consumers for Health Choice, said: "We have always said that if the Government examines all the scientific evidence it will come to the right decision and the referral to this committee should ensure that happens."

Peter Luff, the Tory chairman of the Agriculture Select Commitee, said: "This is a very sharp change of direction.