A community council meeting was stopped last night when an image of a naked man appeared in a video link and started speaking filth to members.
Argyll and Bute councillor Andrew Vennard was preparing to give an update on the recent election to Oban Community Council.
But he was interrupted when an image of a naked man with the name Kevin Wright appeared on screen.
The man addressed members of the community council and made lewd comments.
He could be seen lying naked in a bath full of water, with his private parts barely covered.
It is not clear if the man joined the meeting or if it a recording was used, or if the person speaking was the same man who appeared on the video call.
Who was the man?
The man addressed the chairwoman, Marri Malloy, stating: “Keep talking dirty to me, I like it.”
George Berry, a member of the community council, asked who this man was and what position he held.
He replied he was in position “69”.
Mr Berry said: “I don’t know who this guy is but he should be muted.”
The man made rude comments and asked Mrs Malloy what she was going to do about it.
It was at this point, around 8pm, that the decision was taken to close the meeting.
An email was sent out to attendees and the meeting was resumed with the man kicked out.
One of the group said the incident would force them to go back to only giving out the meeting password to people who are planning to attend ahead of time.
Community councillor Duncan Martin added: “He was obviously from somewhere south of the border going by his accent.”
‘I went and made sure my doors were all locked’
Mrs Malloy tried to make light of the situation.
But later speaking to The Press and Journal, she said: “I’m fine, I thought at first it was someone we knew having a joke but it was absolutely disgusting.”
As the meeting resumed, community councillor Jessie MacFarlane said: “I was frightened, I went and made sure my doors were all locked.”
Mr Berry said: “Are the companies that provide the links to these meetings responsible for security?”
Mrs Malloy said: “I think we need to go back to giving out passwords to people who want to join the meeting.”
Mr Berry exclaimed: “Somebody like that, so cowardly, I would love to get him with a 2×4 lump of wood on a dark night.”
Mr Martin said: “I guess the problem is we wanted to make it easier for the public to join. And we made it easier for the public to join.”
Mrs MacFarlane replied: “We don’t want that kind of public.”
Can you help trace him?
Community councillor Stewart McIver said: “That is why Argyll and Bute Council doesn’t use Zoom for its meetings.”
Mr Berry asked: “Did anyone recognise that guy in his bath?”
Mr McIver responded: “I don’t think it’s even his own picture. If I looked like that I wouldn’t be publicizing it.
“I would be hiding away. He looks like he needed a good plate of mince and tatties.”
The business of the meeting, which included the Oban Harbour revision order and a new roundabout for the outskirts of the town, then continued.
Mrs Malloy concluded the meeting by saying: “Thank you for participating. I know it was a bit of a farce halfway through. Funny at first, but not so funny later.”
What happens now?
Speaking later she said she would mention the incident in her regular community council report to police, but she doubted the hacker could be traced.
The meetings are recorded, but only by audio purposes for the minutes.
It is not the first time a community meeting has been disrupted in this fashion.
In March last year police were called in to investigate when a naked man gatecrashed an online meeting of Inshes and Milton of Leys Community Council.
Officers later said the man, who signed in as “Zoom”, could not be identified as he appeared facing away from his camera.
Although a crime was established, police were unable to establish where the image and video came from.
Do you know who this person is? Get in touch by emailing rita.campbell@pressandjournal.co.uk
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