A councillor has defended the creation and sharing of an AI-generated video featuring a mayor, stating it "served a purpose. " The video, produced by independent councillor Alastair Chambers, depicted the Mayor of Gloucester, councillor Ashley Bowkett, wearing ceremonial robes and declaring he would block any investigation into the city council's finances. Mr Chambers commented: "If I need to push boundaries and use modern technology to expose what's really going on, I will do so every single time. " The Liberal Democrat group on Gloucester City Council has called for an investigation, criticizing the video's content as "beneath the standards expected of anyone in public office. " The video was uploaded on Sunday to the Spotted Gloucestershire Facebook page. Earlier this month, the city council disclosed it was facing bankruptcy and would be seeking a government bailout of up to £17. 5 million. Mr Chambers said he requested a special council meeting to address the overspending, but Mr Bowkett declined the request via emails which the BBC has not reviewed. This refusal motivated him to create the video. "Long emails, lengthy threads, and extensive articles often fail to convey what is truly happening, " he added. Mr Chambers expressed no concern about viewers potentially not realizing the video was fabricated. Though Mr Bowkett belongs to the Liberal Democrat group, the city mayor's role is ceremonial and apolitical. A Liberal Democrat spokesperson described the video as "appalling" and urged the council to initiate a formal complaints and standards investigation. "Gloucester deserves councillors whose priority is the city and the residents they serve. "Not cheap stunts, not mockery, not behaviour fit for social media outrage clips, " they stated. When asked if a formal complaint had been filed against Mr Chambers, Gloucester City Council responded that it "cannot comment" on "individual elected members. " A special meeting regarding the council’s financial situation is planned for next week.