The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales (PSOW) has launched an investigation into the Welsh councillor who allegedly voted during a virtual council meeting whilst driving his car. Cllr Andrew Wood, an independent councillor who represents Gele and Llandullas on Conwy County Borough Council, attended a virtual meeting of the council's Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee earlier this year - and can be seen in video footage raising his hand to vote, whilst his vehicle appears to be moving.
Cllr Wood has been accused of raising his hand to vote whilst driving his car - an accusation Cllr Wood denies. He told our sister site NorthWalesLive that he has "not done a Zoom meeting while driving a vehicle," adding: "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."
Unfortunately for Cllr Wood, video footage from the Finances and Resources Overview appears to show him attending the meeting from a vehicle and raising his hands to vote while it is moving. You can watch a clip of the alleged incident in the video at the top of this article.
Recap: Councillor accused of voting in online council meeting while driving his car
Now, the PSOW has confirmed it has received several complaints over the incident and is investigating Cllr Wood in relation to concerns raised, as reported by NorthWalesLive.
A spokesperson for the Office of the PSOW said: "I can confirm that we have already received a number of complaints against Clir Wood regarding this specific incident. We will therefore be commencing an investigation and will be writing to Cllr Wood this week to confirm this."
In response to NorthWalesLive's enquiry into what the council was doing to look into the issue, leader of Conwy County Borough Council, Charlie McCoubrey said: "I will be speaking to Andrew Wood in due course to try and get more details about the issue. I don't really have any more to say about it."
A spokesperson for the council previously said: "We were not made aware of this matter until we received an enquiry. The Monitoring Officer will consider appropriate action and also remind all elected members of their individual responsibility to conduct themselves in line with the requirements of the Code of Conduct and Members Protocol."
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