Police take no further action on leader's post

Essex Police said it would take no further action against the leader of Basildon Council over a social media video post he made.

Last week Labour's Gavin Callaghan apologised for creating an AI video that attacked local Conservatives and Reform UK councillors and featured the word "Jew" over the image of one Tory councillor.

Callaghan deleted the post and apologised on X, saying "As soon as I was made aware of the antisemitism within the lyrics, I immediately deleted the post."

Opposition Conservatives and Reform UK had called for him to resign.

Basildon Conservatives reported the video to the police last week.

In a statement, Essex Police said: "Following an allegation relating to a social media post, we have carried out a thorough assessment of all the information received.

"As a result of this review, no further action will be taken as the post does not meet the criminal threshold."

The video posted on Facebook used the original lyrics from Michael Jackson's 1995 song They Don't Care About Us.

The singer was criticised for the lyrics and re-recorded the song.

In his apology last week, Callaghan said: "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."

Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.