Leader's antisemitic AI video reported to police

An AI video created by a council leader that included antisemitic song lyrics has been reported to police.

Gavin Callaghan, the Labour leader of Basildon Council in Essex, apologised for posting the video on Facebook on Thursday, which had been directed at his Conservative opponents.

He said he "immediately" deleted the post after being made aware of the lyrics, which were from the original version of a widely-criticised Michael Jackson song.

Conservatives and Reform UK called for his resignation and the video was reported to Essex Police.

A spokesperson for the force said: "We have received an allegation relating a social media post and are assessing the information."

In his statement on X, Callaghan said he created a video about the Billericay Conservative Party.

Regarding the antisemitic content, he said: "I was completely unaware of this at the time I posted the video and, to my enormous regret, did not check the video adequately before posting.

"As soon as I was made aware of the antisemitism within the lyrics, I immediately deleted the post.

"Antisemitism has no place in our society and I am deeply sorry for unknowingly sharing something that carried antisemitic content.

"I would never have posted it had I known, and accept that I should have been more careful in my use of AI.

"I will learn from this mistake and be far more cautious in the future."

His video included the caption: "The Billericay Tories will run Basildon Council again in 35 days time if Reform UK win enough seats to put them back in charge."

There are elections to Basildon Council on 7 May.

Jackson came under fire for the lyrics in the original version of They Don't Care About Us in 1995.

At the time, the singer apologised, stating he had intended to demonstrate the hatefulness of racism, before re-recording the song and changing the lyrics.

Andy Barnes, leader of Basildon Conservatives, confirmed the video had been reported to police.

"The explanation offered by councillor Callaghan - which fully accepts he was responsible for the production and distribution of the video - that it was an AI error is absurd and insulting to residents' intelligence," said Barnes.

Sam Journet, Reform UK group leader at Basildon Council, said the incident was "deeply concerning".

"When you are leading a £45m council and are responsible for nearly 200,000 residents, leadership comes with responsibility, and if responsibility is breached in this way then there must be consequences," said Journet.

Journet highlighted the video was posted at a time during the Jewish festival of Passover — one of the most important Jewish festivals of the year.

Independent MP for Basildon and East Thurrock, James McMurdoch, added: "There must be a clear and transparent investigation into how this occurred."

The BBC asked Callaghan if he would resign and why he had posted his apology on X, rather than Facebook where the video was originally posted, but he said he had nothing else to add.

A spokesperson for the Labour Party pointed the BBC to Callaghan's online apology.

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