Now, far be it from me to call someone a coward, but I’ll leave you to read our page six article and decide on an appropriate label for the self-styled “garden guru” Monty Don.

The archetypal exponent of not-in-my-back-yard journalism has long been having a one-eyed, un-informed pop at the UK berry industry for its use of polytunnels, as well as the “tasteless” strawberries that he says emanate from them.

He has been forced to apologise by the Press Complaints Commission, but continues his tirade, while using - admittedly smaller - polytunnels in his own garden to ensure his own crop’s protection and ability to yield.

With the explicit agreement of Don’s representatives, FPJ threw open an invitation to the industry to address questions to their arch enemy. A host of you responded with some searching questions, which we expected the poison-penned maestro to have an answer for.

And guess what? Despite numerous attempts to persuade him otherwise, the questions will never be answered because Don has too busy a schedule to provide a response. We have repeatedly gone back, but he is hidden behind a firmly bolted door.

I dare say soft-fruit growers around the country are too busy to defend themselves against the Don-inspired outcry against the polytunnels that protect their livelihoods. But where do they have to hide?

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