New Plymouth's Māori ward councillor says two onlookers were aiming to intimidate by filming her in the council chamber.The pair deny they were recording and want their names cleared.Councillor Te Waka McLeod interrupted last Thursday's meeting to ask Debbie Hancock to stop filming her from the public gallery.McLeod said Hancock - who stood unsuccessfully for council last year - repeatedly pointed a phone towards her, lowering it every time McLeod looked up.New Plymouth District Mayor Max Brough ordered Hancock to stop as the alleged filming was disturbing McLeod and the meeting.McLeod said Hancock's companion Kevin Moratti then took up the filming.The mayor again insisted they end the disruption."It's causing a distraction and a nuisance, and if it carries on you'll be asked to leave," Brough said.New Plymouth District Mayor Max Brough.RNZ / Robin MartinMcLeod later said Hancock's phone was pointed at her several times before she objected."When someone's directly pointing a camera at you, towards you, many times - I just wonder what the motivation is behind that," she said.McLeod represents New Plymouth District Council's Te Purutanga Mauri Pūmanawa ward."I felt like ... they were trying to intimidate me."Afterwards Moratti said neither he nor Hancock had been filming.He said he raised his phone to follow the meeting while sending messages, rather than looking down."Vertical, you can look straight across the top of your phone … and you can carry on at least being interested in the meeting."Moratti said he'd officially object against the disruption finding."It's got out of hand, so it needs to be addressed."Debbie Hancock, councillor Kerry Vosseler and Kevin Moratti say there was no filming.LDR / Te Korimako o Taranaki fileMoratti was a foundation board member of Hobson's Pledge, which campaigns against Treaty rights and interests, and is a former ACT Party candidate.He heads the Taxpayer Union-aligned New Plymouth Ratepayers Alliance, which on Facebook posted that Hancock raised her phone "to get a signal".Hancock was unable to be contacted, but on Facebook said she hadn't been filming but "looking at other things".She wrote that she was troubled an accusation was acted on without proof."Nobody approached me and asked what I was doing."Instead an assumption was made about my behaviour and I was publicly singled out."Last October Hancock stood for council on a ticket of four endorsed by the Ratepayers Alliance, which was formed by Moratti, Brough and councillor Murray Chong.Councillor Kerry Vosseler - the only winner from that ticket - turned to wink at her allies as a point of order was raised against their behaviour.After the meeting Vosseler said she "didn't see anything untoward"."We all hold our phones at different levels to read etcetera."I'm sure if it was a recording that the person would've stopped because there's a risk of you getting kicked out of the chamber."New Plymouth councillor John Woodward.SuppliedCouncillor John Woodward raised the point of order that prompted the Mayor's rebuke.Woodward later said he was certain Hancock and Moratti were filming."I'm 100 percent sure they were."The phones were pointed in Te Waka's direction, and it would be an unusual position to put your phone if you were checking Messenger or scrolling Facebook."Woodward said people were free to film meetings but not to disrupt such crucial work as long term plan deliberations.Councillor David Bublitz said he'd seen Hancock pointing her phone towards McLeod and Moratti follow suit."Lifting up [his phone] as soon as Ms Hancock was asked to put it down … the timing of it seemed interesting to me."LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.