Westminster plastic straws double in three years

The number of straws purchased by the Westminster parliament has doubled in the last three years.

Data from the House of Commons Commission showed the number of straws bought had gone up from 6,000 in 2014/15 to 12,250 in 2016/17.

SNP MP David Linden described the increase as “pretty alarming” after uncovering the information through a written parliamentary question.

The Glasgow East MP asked the question of Lib Dem former minister Tom Brake.

Mr Linden said he was prompted to ask the question following an initiative by Sunnyside Primary School in his constituency. He added he did not want to see the world’s oceans filled with plastic.

It was “now incumbent on MPS to take action on this issue” and the figures provided a real “call for action”.