I spoke to the AI avatar of a Leeds MP. How did it cope with my Yorkshire accent?

Leeds MP Mark Sewards has launched a digital assistant, but the results of my chat show MPs' aides have nowt to worry about

As anyone with even a trace of a regional dialect who has had to pay a parking fine can attest, voice recognition services struggle with accents. Now, people in Mark Sewards' constituency in Leeds are likely to find the same problem with his AI variant.

A chatbot billed as the first AI version of an MP responds in Sewards' voice with advice, support or by offering to pass on a message to his team - but only if it understands you.