Conwy county councillor who ‘voted while driving’ faces no further action | UK News

A councillor who appeared to vote while driving will face no further action, an ombudsman has confirmed.

Councillor Andrew Wood, a member of the Conwy First independent group on Conwy County Borough Council, participated and voted in a virtual council meeting in July last year.

A recording of the finance and resources overview and scrutiny committee meeting appeared to show him driving a vehicle, but Cllr Wood insisted that “none of [his] actions were motoring offences”.

The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales launched an investigation after a complaint was lodged.

Ombudsman Michelle Morris found Cllr Wood’s actions were suggestive of a breach of the code but that no further action would be taken as “he had not repeated the behaviour” and there was no criminal investigation.

She said attending a meeting while driving “demonstrated poor judgement and had the potential to bring the council into disrepute”.

A report by the ombudsman said the member had acknowledged video footage showed him driving a vehicle while participating in the meeting.

He said he felt it important to attend all meetings.

Subsequent videos showed the car to be stationary or that he was in the passenger seat.

The police said it had not received a complaint, according to the ombudsman, and that it would not now be in the public interest to investigate.

The decision will be held on record and considered if there were future similar behaviour by the member.

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Cllr Wood told Sky News he would be happy to provide a full statement upon his return from holiday.

In the meantime, he wished to mention that none of his actions were motoring offences.

He said you can “very easily listen to a meeting while driving” and there was “no infringement of the code of conduct”.