Council Zoom meeting disrupted by ‘extremely inappropriate content’, prompting security review

An online meeting of Flintshire Council’s Cabinet was interrupted by a man who carried out what appeared to be a sex act, after obtaining access to the video call link.

The council have revealed they will now be reviewing the security settings in meetings so only “designated officers can share content”.

According to the BBC, the Zoom screen was taken over, and the man could be seen performing what seemed to be the sex act, leaving councillors "shocked and appalled".

The interruptions to the meeting began when “a voice could be heard speaking to councillors”.

The public can watch meetings online, but they can only share content if they are given a link.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the meeting was brought to a halt “within seconds” of the incident.

A Flintshire Council spokesperson said: “A member of the public was given access to the link for this morning’s Cabinet meeting on Zoom and shared some extremely inappropriate content. We expect that only officers and councillors can join meetings as a participant. 

“As a result of this incident, we shall be reviewing the security settings in meetings so that only designated officers can share content.

“We shall also be reminding all councillors that the links are for them only and that the public can view meetings via the livestream on our website.”