Councillor suspended after refusing school request to remove parking footage

Liberal Democrat councillor Adrian Chapmanlaw has been suspended from his party group after refusing a school’s request to remove footage filmed outside its gates. The dispute centres on whether children visible in the video could be identified, with the school saying the footage raised safeguarding concerns and caused distress to families.

Chapmanlaw, who posts road-rule videos as Dorset Safer Roads, said no one was identifiable and suggested the complaint was intended to deter him from reporting illegal parking. The video showed a taxi on zig-zag lines at drop-off time, with children and parents in the background; the school asked for it to be removed. The party’s Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole leader suspended him pending the conclusion of the council’s standards procedure, while Chapmanlaw rejected the decision and did not apologise.