The saying goes that ‘every cloud has a silver lining’.  Unfortunately, I’m not too sure it does I’m afraid.  Here’s why.

As the council’s chief press officer it’s my job to effectively find a positive from every negative – you know, look for the silver lining of the otherwise grey cloud.

But today, there’s a pretty dark cloud hanging over the council and I’m buggered if I can see even a fleck of silver.

So, does that mean I’m not doing my duty?  Should I always be on the defensive?  Am I letting the council down?

This has nothing to do with ‘spin’.  I don’t do spin, despite what any journalist might tell you.  I prefer to be a press chief who challenges inaccuracies and mis-reporting and seeks to make sure our position is clear and understood.

I’m not the PR person who – as Leeds is engulfed with flood water – stands by and says ‘well, at least the flowers are getting a good watering’.

I’ll tell you this though.  It feels really uncomfortable when you’re facing a reporter and you think ‘actually, there isn’t any defence available here’.

That’s why today, we’ve knocked down the sandbags and held our hands up.

Our strategy has been this: respond in a timely fashion, be open and honest, acknowledge that things haven’t been right, admit that work still needs to be done and reassure the people of Leeds that we’re on the case and we’re already doing something about the issues we face.

You can’t say fairer than that can you?