A COUNTY councillor has said he was not driving during an online meeting after a video circulating on social media appeared to show him logging in while in a vehicle.

The five-second clip, which was shared on Twitter, shows county councillor Phyl Davies – who represents the Blaen Hafren ward in Montgomeryshire, and who is the education portfolio holder on Powys County Council’s (PCC) cabinet – logging in to a meeting about the future of Llanfihangel Rhydithon Community Primary School.

The Conservative councillor appears to be wearing a seatbelt in the video shared online.

But Councillor Davies has categorically denied that he was driving at the time, adding that he was not in charge of a vehicle, or near a public highway.

He told the County Times: “I was in a vehicle but I wasn’t driving. I wasn’t in charge of a vehicle on a public highway. I wasn’t even anywhere near a public road.”

He described the furore as a "non-story" and said Dyfed Powys Police had investigated the matter and said there was no evidence to bring charges.

Powys County Council has confirmed it has received a complaint about the incident. A spokesman for the council said: “The council is aware of the incident and can confirm that a complaint about it has been received by the leader.”

A sun-drenched image of what appears to be San Francisco’s famous Golden Gate Bridge appears as the background of Cllr Davies’ clip, who briefly comes into shot while Marianne Evans – the council’s senior manager for schools transformation – is addressing a council scrutiny committee.

The learning and skills committee met recently to challenge a cabinet decision to press ahead with the controversial closure of Llanfihangel Rhydithon, in Dolau, near Llandrindod Wells.

The clip was posted on the Dolau School Action Group’s Twitter page at around 8.30pm on Thursday, October 7, accompanied by the question: "Do people wear seat belts while sat at a desk?"

One Twitter user posted: “Not very good for a person in charge of our children’s education.”

Another added: “Perhaps he thought it was going to be a rough ride… it could be now!”

The Dolau School Action Group this week insisted the council face a “long, long fight” to close the village school.

It is believed closing the 37-pupil village school would save PCC £59,000. The council’s cabinet last week agreed to continue with the closure proposal by publishing a statutory notice formally proposing it be shut. The proposal is subject to a review by the Welsh Government, as well as a legal challenge from the community but, if successful, the 170-year-old school would likely shut on August 31 next year.

The council has already decided to press ahead with the closure of 200-year-old Castle Caereinion school, near Llanfair Caereinion, which has 25 pupils. The future of Llanbedr Primary School, just north of Crickhowell, and seven other schools – whose pupil populations range from 23 to 109 – are also in doubt.