Frank Sidebottom-lookalike cabinet member Ed Malcolm was secretly recorded at a public meeting calling communities secretary Eric Pickles “big” and “fat”.

At first glance it’s simply childish, but when you consider that Ed is lead member for finance at South Tyneside Council, and Pickles is the man holding the purse-strings on local government, you realise it’s rank stupidity. Things go wrong when he isn’t reading from a pre-prepared statement.

Ed, a man who prefers to toot words out of the corner of his mouth rather than pronounce them, was suspiciously lost for words following the incident. Presumably he’ll be more careful when doling out his pearls of wisdom in future.

People of Houghton and Sunderland South, you have had a lucky escape.