Who attends a council Zoom call while getting into a bath? A Reform councillor, of course.
An awkward incident involving a Reform UK councillor was aired in public during a meeting of West Northamptonshire Council after it was revealed that a senior party figure had accidentally appeared undressed on an internal video call.
An opposition councillor told the meeting that James Petter, a Reform UK councillor and the party’s deputy leader on the authority, had joined an internal online briefing with his camera switched on while getting into a bath. As a result, other participants on the call reportedly saw him naked.
The incident prompted laughter and disbelief among councillors. During the meeting, one councillor remarked that once certain things had been seen, they “cannot be unseen”.
Further controversy followed online, where it was claimed that a recording of the video session was later deleted by the council on the grounds that it contained “sensitive content”. The deletion led to questions from some councillors, who queried whether removing the footage was appropriate and called for greater transparency over the decision.
The council has not publicly commented in detail on the incident or the removal of the recording.
