Billions of plastic stirrers, straws, cotton wool buds could be banned as early as next year, Theresa May will say today as part of a bid to rid the world of single use plastic.

The Prime Minister will use the announcement to call on all other Commonwealth countries to join in the fight against plastic pollution at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in London.

A consultation proposing a ban on single use plastic in England will be published by Environment Secretary Michael Gove later this year.

The ban – which will not include plastic straws required for medical reasons - could be in place by next year, sources said.

Official figures show that Britons use 44 billion plastic stirrers and 42 billion plastic straws every year.