After hitting the American market as a digestive aid, the green-gold powder worked its way into professional kitchens by the mid-1990s, and has gained a growing following.

WSJ: Fennel Pollen: Culinary Fairy Dust

Mr Lake said he also found himself at odds with the "dither and delay" in the Conservative Party nationally over the economy, Europe, the green belt, gay marriage, immigration and foreign aid.

BBC: Sacked Surrey councillor Ian Lake quits Conservatives

The festival raises money for Greenpeace, Oxfam and Water Aid, while Mr Eavis' other green measures include recycling food waste on the working dairy farm, meaning he has not needed to use chemical fertilisers for almost 40 years.

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