"He will receive a formal statement expressing the council's severe disapproval but the council is powerless to do anything more."

A sentence that just sums up the utter joke that is local Essex politics...

The former council leader tweeted an apology after the meeting which read: "My point, badly made I admit, is that Rudy Guiliani [sic] is not someone I'd look to for advice on education.

"He has been part of the Trump fake news agenda since 2016 and has lost credibility.

"I should have made that clearer and I apologise for any offence caused."

The irony of the 'Echo' inserting '(sic)' into a story will not be lost on regular readers!

He later added: "I chose my words inconsiderately. My point is that Guiliani [sic] is a fake news merchant and is not trustworthy. I don't care what he wears."

Hmmmm, really? People who genuinely don't care what someone wears don't tend to notice...

The incident came in the same meeting in which Mr Callaghan failed to apologise for previously breaking the council's code of conduct which resulted in him being censured. He was due to apologise for calling Conservative councillor Chris Jackman a "liar" and a "bent councillor" on social media but declined to do so at the meeting on Thursday night.

Where the hell do they find these people...?