Powers to protect council prayer sessions 'too weak It worries me. The judiciary are supposed to be the highest law in the land, above government. How Eric Pickles, out of the goodness of his heart, can overturn the judiciary, I have my doubts. Mr Pickles announced that parishes and larger local authorities, such as county and borough councils, have been given a new "general power of competence" under the Localism Act. This means that councils can perform any action which an individual citizen is capable of carrying out, regardless of whether they have been given the explicit power under local government laws. However, Mr Johns said Cornwall county council was already facing a potential legal challenge after using Mr Pickles's new measure to include "prayers" on the formal agenda for its meetings. "That's where my dilemma lies," he said. It's ambiguous at the moment. Bideford is planning to continue to hold informal prayers immediately before council meetings, rather than at the start of official business, he said. Some Christians fear that their faith is under threat from secular activists. Earlier this week, the Prime Minister gave his support to the Christian "fightback" against atheists who want to remove faith from public life. Mr Pickles insisted that the new power would give councils "the freedom to pray." He said: "Bideford town council will be able to hold prayers once more at the start of council business. With Easter approaching, this sends a strong signal that this Government will protect the role of faith in public life. However, the National Association of Local Councils argued that authorities have little choice but to obey the High Court ruling. Other local government legal experts also fear that Mr Pickles's actions will make no difference. Keith Porteous Wood, of the National Secular Society, which supported the original case against Bideford, attacked the "evangelical" minister for "interpreting" the law. "The Localism Act was not passed to address the saying of prayers during council meetings, and some eminent lawyers believe it does not, as he maintains, give councils the power to do so," he said.