A VIDEO filmed in a council chamber in which two Reform councillors accused a cabinet member of “lying” has been taken down.
The party political broadcast-style video, shared on social media before being taken down, featured councillors David Thomas and Jason O’Connell complaining Labour’s David Daniels had criticised Reform councillors for opposing a new rule requiring councillors to keep cameras on when attending meetings via video calls, having said the motion wasn’t party political.
In the video, Cllr Daniels was accused of “lying”, which he denied.
Cllr Daniels, a cabinet member of Labour-controlled Torfaen Borough Council, said he stood by his comments and had called for Cllr Thomas, who has posted the video to his X and Facebook accounts, to take it down as he called it “misleading”.
The Reform councillors were also criticised by Torfaen’s presiding member, Labour’s Rose Seabourne who chairs council meetings, who said she believed posting a party political video from the chamber at Pontypool’s Civic Centre could be a breach of the authority’s code of conduct.
Torfaen Borough Council has confirmed permission had been granted to film the video in the historic chamber in the listed Pontypool Town Hall.
The Reform pair could have faced a probe over a potential breach of the council’s code of conduct but that needn’t take place now as all parties are satisified a line can be drawn after it was agreed to take the video down.
A council spokesperson said: “Cllr Thomas had permission to use the chamber for filming but in doing do is required to act in accordance with the local authority’s code of conduct. A local resolution has now been agreed and Cllr Thomas has removed the video.”
In the video, Cllr Thomas was sat in the presiding member’s chair and banging a gavel, a small ceremonial mallet, on the raised bench while introducing a clip of Cllr Daniels supporting the motion on protocol during online meetings at the December council session.
In the clip, Cllr Daniels said a rule requiring councillors to keep cameras on throughout meetings they attend via video calls and inform the chair if they are turning their camera off for a comfort break or other urgent reason is “less of a party political issue, more of a fairness issue.”
But the video then showed a social media post from Cllr Daniels criticising Reform for opposing the motion when it was debated. In the social media post Cllr Daniels wrote: “I would encourage you to look at the Party who opposed this pretty straight forward motion to raise councillor standards, and then consider who that minority it’s aimed at might be.”
In the video, Cllr Thomas said: “I am fed up of executive members lying in this chamber and to the public.”
In his post he claimed Cllr Daniels’ on-the-record comments made at the council meeting are contradicted by his later post on social media.
Cllr Daniels, who represents Pontnewydd in Cwmbran, said he stood by what he said in the council meeting and his later comments made on social media and rejected the accusation of lying.
He said: “The motion isn’t party political as it raises standards for everybody equally. For it to be party political it would need to name a party and be designed to specifically focus on one party. It doesn’t do that it raises standards for all of us, every party will have to raise standards.”
The cabinet member said in his social media post he had said for people to “look at who objected to it and and I’d not named anyone or any party.
“I completely reject the charge of lying, it is not at all that.
“He (Cllr Thomas) is perfectly entitled to be frustrated or stung by it but the accusation of lying and the implication it is repeated behaviour that I would certainty challenge.”
Cllr Daniels said he had wanted Cllr Thomas to take the video down as it was “misleading”.
He also criticised the use of the council chamber but said he wasn’t sure if was a breach of any rules.
Labour’s Cllr Seabourne said she believed the use of the council chamber for a political video, with a Senedd election in May, isn’t allowed and has raised it with the council’s legal department.
She said: “I’m absolutely disappointed council members can stand in the chamber criticising councillors and accusing them of lying. Using the chamber in this way brings the council into disrepute.”
Cllr Thomas is the Reform group leader on Torfaen Borough Council and earlier this week it was confirmed he had been removed from the volunteer Cwmbran Community Council for failing to attend meetings for six months.
In a joint statement, the Reform councillors had originally defended the video and said: “It’s clear as day that Cllr Daniels said one thing in the chamber and another on social media.”