Whenever Mohammed Dawood is quizzed at full council he lumbers to his feet with the swagger of a stand-up comic.

I often get the feeling that he’s one of those cabinet members who has slightly lost sight of the fact that questions at full council are one of the few ways a humble backbench opposition councillor can hold the executive to account.

One of the issues which keeps raising its head is the cost of consultants to the city council. Months after the question was first asked, Lib Dem Parmjit Gill is still waiting for a response.

So when Coun Gill asked about the issue again at last Thursday’s meeting, he expected a straight answer.

Instead, Coun Dawood cracked a joke:

“I’ll have to ask a consultant to find out.”

Cue cross-party grumbles and a wry observation from Ross Willmott.

Frowning, he said: “Oh, that was a bit of Liam Byrne moment, wasn’t it?“