Quote of the week must surely go to Exeter City Council leader Phil Bialyk for: “Sorry, chair, I just need to refer to some of my other notes, if you’ll just bear with me”.
It followed two long minutes at Exeter City Council’s Tuesday evening meeting in which Councillor Bialyk read out a scripted statement on the council’s willingness to use green space beside the river for development in answer to a completely different question.
It was only when he turned the page that he noticed his mistake (but still seemed to miss the amusement among his colleagues).
The question? From Exeter Observer contributing editor Peter Cleasby: “Since the council has failed to respond to repeated questioning from Exeter Observer on the topic, will the leader of the council please explain why the Church of England has two representatives on the Liveable Exeter Place Board while other faiths and churches have none?”
Unfortunately, when Councillor Bialyk did find the correct script he still failed to provide an answer.