BOTH the cowardly cowboy, Fireman Bradley and cowardly Colin CoverUp were nowhere to be seen today.
Too frightened to stand in front of the cameras and defend their abysmal record of failure, they took refuge under their desks and behind closed doors.
This is the behaviour we have now sadly come to expect from the Lib Dim Leader of Liverpool city council and the £250,000 a year (plus Performance Related Pay) chief executive.
Fireman Bradley, who is getting his trade a bad name as each day passes, is not normally so reluctant to get his picture taken or to attempt to recite a semi-intelligible statement handed to him on a piece of paper by a spin doctor.
Bradley and Hilton have no integrity and no courage. They shame Liverpool.
From behind their Town Hall shields, they instead threw the smiling assassin Halsall out to face the world's press.
(We took some pleasure in this, since as Executive Director for Resources, Halsall bears much - but not all - of the responsibility for Liverpool's bottom of the league position, eds)
But displaying breathtaking arrogance and complacency, Hasitall contrived to make matters worse!
His litany of excuses and typically patronising attempt to rubbish the Audit Commission's official ratings formula, underlined how much Liverpool has to do to clean up its act.
Radio Merseyside's Roger Phillips sounded thoroughly non-plussed to find Hasitall in total denial.
The BBC's Gordon Burns looked genuinely gob-smacked as the slouching Hasitall gave the distinct impression that he was distinctly tired of all this silly nonsense.
The only voice of sanity came from the Audit Commission who may well now have lost patience with the city council and their willingess or ability to put things right.
We might see some movement here in the next few weeks.
For our part, we would strongly suggest that the decent and honourable course of action for the men who have caused this mess, would be to submit their resignations with immediate effect.
We know who they are.
You know who they are.
And thankfully, as each day passes, the people of Liverpool are beginning to know who they are.
NB: We still have Jase to look forward to on City Talk tomorrow morning. After our free plug the other day City decided to save a bit of dosh and reduce their full page advert to just a quarter page: "The gag's been lifted...let's talk".
But stand by for a load of self-justificatory tosh from the Harbarrowboy.
He too will fail to admit any responsibility or failure.
After all, it's part of the Job Description.
