The Chief Medical Officer will reportedly warn the government that beef on the bone is still a risk to the public and that the ban must stay.

Professor Liam Donaldson's forthcoming report to the government recommends that no immediate moves are made to lift the beef-on-the-bone ban, according to The Independent newspaper.

The ban was introduced 13 months ago after scientific evidence showed there was a risk of people contracting Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (CJD), the human form of "mad cow disease".

If lifted, it would allow T-bone steaks, beef ribs and oxtails to go back on sale.

'Medical advice'

Agriculture Minister Nick Brown has said he is now awaiting advice from the Chief Medical Officer before making any decision.

"When I receive that advice I will give it full and urgent consideration with my ministerial colleagues and make an announcement as soon as I possibly can," Mr Brown said.

He also said the ban was never intended to "endure forever", adding: "It must be lifted on the basis of medical advice, not on the basis of political decision making."

The National Farmers Union has said: "We believe that the risks to the public are so minimal that consumers should have the right to choose whether they eat beef on the bone."

Last November, the European Union said it would lift a ban on British beef it imposed in March 1996, but the decision only applied to deboned beef from animals aged between six and 30 months.