Last week the former leader of Devon CC, Cllr Brian Greenslade was refused permission to challenge a ruling by the council's standards committee. Under the committee's ruling, he can no longer visit council premises unless he gives prior warning and is accompanied by an officer.

The case centred on whether the council had the legal power to exclude him from its premises – and the court ruled it did and it could. Until now it has not been clear – but it could be in future after the latest report on standards called for clarity from the Government on the issue.