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?“

The Lib Dem PPC for Leicester South ticks the various political boxes in the political playbook; labelling the Labour candidate as “Gordon Brown’s Labour MP” and hammering the fact that’s he’s won the seat before.

But surely Parmjit can fix himself up with a better photographer? Some of the photographs are bizarre.

Highlights include him gazing at the camera next to a confused-looking Vince Cable, standing aside while a taxi driver points at Simon Hughes, and slinking between two cars to highlight potholes. Sack the snapper, Parmjit!