The Government is ready to force supermarkets to reduce use of plastic bags if they do not take steps voluntarily, the Prime Minister has said.

Gordon Brown hailed the example of retailers like Ikea, which removed single-use plastic bags from its stores last July, and Marks & Spencer, which yesterday announced it will charge 5p for each one issued.

He said that it was time for Government, individuals and supermarkets to “accept our own responsibility for ending the environmental damage we are causing”.

Around 13 billion plastic bags are given out free to UK shoppers every year and take 1,000 years to decay. However, Mr Brown has yet to decide exactly how he will compel supermarkets to reduce their use.

In November, Mr Brown convened a forum with retailers to discuss how single-use disposable bags can be eliminated from British shopping.

But he took a further step today by warning: “I want to make clear that if Government compulsion is needed to make the change, we will take the necessary steps. We do not take such steps lightly — but the damage that single-use plastic bags inflict on the environment is such that strong action must be taken.

“The important thing is to come up with a scheme that will be of most benefit, most quickly — and ideally at the same time secure funds for organisations that help protect our environment.”

Mr Brown described the disposable bag as “one of the most visible and most easily reducible forms of waste”.

Writing in the Daily Mail, he said: “My approach is this: if we want others to change, we must make it easier for people to make the right choices. That applies to individual things each of us do, and also what our firms and shops do. So the Government is ready to do what it can to encourage a change in the way we use these bags.”

Mr Brown said he would look at initiatives from around the world before deciding how to push ahead with the next steps on eliminating disposable bags.

Despite reports that he will require all supermarkets to follow M&S’s lead by charging 5p for each bag, it is understood he is yet to decide exactly what form any compulsory action may take.

Meanwhile the Conservatives released official figures showing that Whitehall departments and their quangos have bought more than 1.2 million plastic bags branded with their logos and slogans over the last 24 months.

The figures, obtained through parliamentary questions, show that more than £90,000 of taxpayers’ money has been spent on bags promoting departments and state bodies ranging from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, to the Health and Safety Executive and the National Offender Management Service.

Eric Pickles, shadow communities and local government secretary, said: “There is growing public concern that plastic bags cause environmental damage and endanger our wildlife. It is the height of hypocrisy for Government ministers to waste taxpayers’ money on such vanity purchases.

“While Gordon Brown lectures the public on the environment, his own ministers are fuelling Britain’s throw-away culture.”

Official responses to Tory questions showed that a total of 1,284,040 plastic bags have been bought by 11 departments and agencies over the past 24 months, at a cost of £91,536.

The biggest users of branded bags on the list were the Department for Work and Pensions, which bought 632,490 at a total cost of £22,668, followed by the Department for Communities and Local Government(300,000 at a cost of £19,550) and the Department for Transport (142,050 at a cost of £20,531).

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