Doctors have warned that millions of consumers are at risk because a chemical that triggered an allergy epidemic is still being used in beauty products – two years after scientists called for it to be banned.

In a scathing attack, a group of dermatologists accuse Brussels bureaucrats of ‘incompetence, indifference and gross ignorance’ by allowing cosmetics firms to continue using a preservative which was blamed for a massive surge in patients suffering with rashes, scaling skin, swelling and eczema.

The Mail on Sunday highlighted in 2013 how methylisothiazolinone, known as MI, was being routinely added to moisturisers, sun creams, shampoos and even baby wipes to prolong their shelf life – with devastating results for some consumers.