Conwy councillor denies voting on Zoom while driving

A councillor who took part in an online meeting while sitting in the driver's seat of a car has denied he was driving at the time.

Andrew Wood is seen apparently raising his hand to vote and then seems to reach to turn the camera off while the vehicle appears to be moving.

Mr Wood, an independent councillor who represents Gele and Llanddulas on Conwy council, has denied any wrongdoing.

The public services ombudsman has confirmed it is investigating.

A Conservative Member of the Senedd had already called for the ombudsman to look into it.

North Wales MS Mark Isherwood said he had received emails from constituents accusing Mr Wood of "making a mockery of the political system, and that "he should be encouraged to resign and apologise".

Conwy council said it was considering what action to take.

The incident happened at a meeting of the council's finance and resources scrutiny committee in July.

Like many council meetings around Wales since the pandemic, it was a "hybrid" meeting, which councillors can attend by sitting in a meeting room or by using Zoom.

Mr Wood took part remotely, but only appears on screen briefly, seemingly to vote on council decisions by showing his hand to the camera.

In one vote, the vehicle he is sitting in appears to be moving, before Mr Wood moves his hand towards the camera and the video feed is turned off.

Conwy council said it had only just been made aware of the incident, but that driving while attending a virtual council meeting was not actually covered by any of its existing rules.

A council spokeswoman said "existing policies do not refer to members taking part in meetings while driving".

"The council's monitoring officer will consider appropriate action and also remind all elected councillors of their individual responsibility to conduct themselves in line with the requirements of the code of conduct and members protocol."

Mr Wood did not reply to several messages from BBC Wales asking for a response, but told the Daily Post newspaper: "I can tell you I have not done a Zoom meeting while driving a vehicle.

"The only time I have ever attended a meeting whilst in my vehicle would have been an audio meeting only.

"I play it through my Bluetooth, other than that I do not have a clue as it's never been pointed out to me. I know nothing about it."