The renewed scrutiny comes after confirmation that Dennis Bacon laid on a £100 meal for two county councillors the day before applications opened for the £215,000-a-year job he now holds.

It previously emerged that the council's Reform leader David Bick and senior councillor Kabeer Kher had, on July 1, dined at the B&B which Dennis Bacon - now County Hall's chief executive - ran at 38 St Giles Street in Norwich.

Mr Kher, cabinet member for business, skills and agriculture, previously said he had been asked to go along by "some local business people I knew" and there had been no confirmation that Mr Bacon was present at the event.

Kabeer Kher (Image: Norfolk County Council)

Mr Kher had said he was "pretty sure" Mr Bacon was there, while Mr Bick said he could not recall if he was or not.

But a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by Labour county councillor Ben Weston has now revealed that when Mr Kher asked for the meal to be entered on to his and Mr Bick's official hospitality register – which councillors must declare – it was described as being "courtesy of Mr Bacon".

David Bick, leader of Norfolk County Council (Image: Matt Senior)

The meal happened the day after Mr Bacon resigned as director of his care company Apple Homecare and the day before the chief executive job – available following Tom McCabe's resignation the previous week – was advertised.

During the interview process, after officials whittled the 49 candidates down to four which included Mr Bacon, Mr Bick was one of the councillors who sat on the selection panel.

Mr Bacon was........

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