Downing Street has denied plans by Andy Burnham to ban tomato ketchup sachets are a result of the prime minister’s new closer ties with the European Union.

No 10 says any such ban would be ministers’ own decision following a consultation, after it was revealed that Mr Burnham was considering stopping cafes and restaurants from giving out sachets of ketchup, mayonnaise and vinegar .

The EU has outlawed single-use plastic packaging for condiments in the catering sector on environmental grounds .

Billions of ketchup sachets are used worldwide each year (Getty Images)

Estimates suggest there are up to 199 million tonnes of plastic waste polluting the world’s oceans , and every year around a million birds and over 100,000 sea mammals die from eating and getting tangled in plastic waste .

Environmental campaigners who want a ban on the sachets say that 855bn of them are used every year globally, and many are thrown away without even being opened.

The sachets are being prohibited in Northern Ireland, under…