Richard Walker has banned plastic packaging and now palm oil from Iceland stores

When the eco-friendly son of Iceland’s multimillionaire founder announced last week that the supermarket would cut palm oil from all its own-brand foods, he was lauded by environmentalists.

Richard Walker, who is managing director of the chain launched by his father, Malcolm, in 1970, was also behind its recent pledge to become the first big retailer to eliminate plastic packaging.

A video promoted by a lobbying group accuses him of hypocrisy and attacking small farmers

Yet his commitment to green causes has enraged palm oil interests in southeast Asia, where tropical rainforests are being destroyed to clear space for oil palms, from which the product is harvested.

Now the industry is taking its revenge with a highly personal online character assassination, highlighting how international bodies can use unregulated social media advertising to attack their enemies.

A lobbying group part funded