It was inevitable I guess, but the last 10 days do appear to have heralded the beginning of a backlash against the UK retailers and their attitude to the supply chain.

It may prove to be shortlived, but with the combined might of the Womens’ Institute and Farmers for Action promising their own brands of protest (p6), the supermarkets have more to worry about than another OFT whitewash.

Just like the UK government, supermarket chains will continue to place inordinate emphasis on minority groups, simply because they know what a strong lobby these factions of society have with the national media.

It took one man - Jamie Oliver - to change the government’s school meals policy. A few Cornish battleaxes chained to the railings outside their local Tesco will garner more column inches than the mundanities that will follow another lengthy and pointless OFT investigation. Tesco, or whichever chain it might be, would respond.

Both the Naked Chef and, hopefully, fully-clad WI members have extremely good points of course. They also have the all-important media platform from which to launch their protests, which in turn guarantees a response.

Many people agree that the disappearance of UK retailing into its discounting black hole has to cease before it drags all suppliers down there with it. If Brits have to take a leaf out of the French protesting copybook (p9), then so be it.