Councillor apologises after toilet visit during virtual meeting

Cllr Bailie Hanif Raja was attending a virtual planning committee meeting on Tuesday (4 November), when he appeared to take his laptop with him into a bathroom.

A video circulating online appears to show the councillor place his computer on the bathroom floor, before bending forwards and reaching for the waist of his trousers.

Another attendee then responds: “Before we start Baillie Raja are you aware that your camera is live.”

The councillor then appears to turn his camera off.

Glasgow City Council has since taken the webcast offline.

"It will be edited, without removing any of the discussion, and reuploaded," a council spokesperson said.

Cllr Raja told a local democracy reporter that he needs regular breaks as he suffers from diabetes.

He said: "I'm diabetic. I need to go to the toilet every hour or so. I take a comfort break every time. You don't sleep at night, you have got to wake up three or four times. That was the reason."

Adam Carey