One of the senior clerics (I think perhaps he was a bishop) at the RICS  once said to me that an utterance of mine would offend the president. He meant it; I was to lie or crawl abjectly on the ground with my face downwards. Alison Levitt QC (now HH Judge Levitt QC) in her lambasting of the senior clergy at RICS uncovered the prevalance of such a notion: to speak up about this ancient institution, to put an opinion contrary to orthodox doctrine, was considered heresy.

She said: “There has been a significant concentration of power in the executive, particularly the CEO and chief operating officer, who became accustomed to deciding what is in the best interest of RICS. They can be oversensitive to perceived criticism and not respond well to challenge.”

Well, we all knew that, didn’t we? Step out of line and you would find yourself marched in front of “Regulation” like a peasant in the medieval church.

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