Some county councillors walked out of a meeting after they found out a fellow councillor had been 'pinged' by NHS Track and Trace.

The councillor is believed to have received a 'ping' from Track and Trace after the meeting on Tuesday had started.

But councillors believe there was a second councillor in the room who had received a 'ping' in advance of the lengthy meeting.

Tuesday's incident has sparked calls for the Government to look again at whether meetings should be allowed to take place virtually.

The situation only emerged in response to a point of order raised by a Liberal Democrat councillor Cllr Paul Clark, who asked a question as the formal afternoon session was about to restart.

It is understood that advice offered to councillors suggested that the meeting – which was being conducted in a Covid safe environment – could continue.

Nevertheless a number of councillors opted to leave the meeting – which was held at the Gordon Craig Theatre, in Stevenage – as the first debate of the afternoon was about to start.

Liberal Democrat Chris White, who is also leader of St Albans District Council, was among those who walked out.

He said: "The council shouldn’t be meeting in person – it’s far too soon. But the government won’t allow us to meet remotely, so we have to take these risks.

"It’s not the county council’s fault. The county council took this to the High Court."

Hertfordshire County Council, alongside lawyers in Local Government and the Association of Democratic Services Officers , spearheaded a national bid to allow virtual council meetings, in April.

At the High Court, the council questioned whether the existing Local Government Act (1972) would allow virtual meetings to continue – asking for an interpretation of words such as 'meeting, 'place', 'presence' and 'attend'.

But the High Court determined that under the existing Act, meetings "must take place in a single, specified geographical location" - and since May 7, all statutory council meetings have had to be held with councillors attending physically.

Following the latest meeting of Hertfordshire County Council, Conservative leader Cllr Richard Roberts said the government should reconsider.

"I think the government should reconsider, in the sense of allowing councils to have mixed, virtual and in-person, meetings.

"So, if you have got vulnerable councillors, for example, they can still attend the meetings.

"We know we have councillors that need protecting – so yes, I think a combination of virtual and in-person would be really helpful. And I am sure the government is thinking about it."

Leader of the Labour group, Cllr Judi Billing, questioned why the Government should have any power over decisions on how local government should meet.

Referring to the move to in-person meetings, she says: "That is where the government has completely stymied us. A lot of meetings are still being held remotely that aren’t statutory council meetings.

"And it would be nice if we could have a hybrid solution – which would also be good environmental grounds, as it would cut down on travel."