Number 10 aide Allegra Stratton makes going green a very personal affair as she switches from traditional sanitary products to eco-friendly menstrual cups

She is rapidly becoming the face of the COP26 climate summit… the free-speaking Tory aide who has urged us all to take 'micro-steps' to help the environment.

Now Allegra Stratton, spokeswoman for COP26 President Alok Sharma, has told friends about a very personal step she has taken: replacing traditional sanitary products with an eco-friendly alternative.

Ms Stratton, who raised eyebrows in No 10 last week by advocating the merits of the Green Party, has reached for a Mooncup, which its manufacturers describe as a 'soft, medical-grade silicone menstrual cup designed by women as the convenient, safe and eco-friendly alternative to tampons and pads'.

Allegra Stratton has reached for a Mooncup, which its manufacturers describe as a 'the convenient, safe and eco-friendly alternative to tampons and pads'

They add that it offers 'an end to the waste, discomfort and expense of disposable sanitary protection'.

It comes after Ms Stratton wrote an article last week in which she gave as examples of 'micro-steps': not rinsing plates before putting them in a dishwasher, buying shower gel as a cardboard-wrapped bar and freezing rather than throwing out half-used loaves of bread. 

She gave a follow-up interview in which she said: 'When people say to me, 'What can they do?', they can do many things, they can join Greenpeace, they can join the Green Party, they can join the Tory Party.'

But Tory strategists increasingly fear that the Green Party could join forces with the Liberal Democrats to form a 'Progressive Alliance' which could topple many Tory MPs in the formerly impregnable 'blue wall' of Southern heartland seats.

It comes after Ms Stratton wrote an article last week in which she gave as examples of 'micro-steps', including not rinsing plates before putting them in a dishwasher

Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Greens in England and Wales, was delighted, saying: 'After decades of inaction from both the Conservatives and Labour, we would absolutely agree with the Government that joining the Green Party is the best thing people can do to help tackle climate change.'

Ms Stratton moved from Downing Street to the COP26 team in April after No 10 advisers had cold feet over plans for her to front daily TV briefings.

The COP26 conference in Glasgow in November is being viewed in No 10 as a chance for Boris Johnson to make a significant mark on the world stage by leading efforts to tackle climate change.