Home secretary has no confidence in West Midlands police chief

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has lost confidence in West Midlands Police’s chief constable after Israeli football fans were banned from a match against Aston Villa.

Mahmood told MPs a “damning” review from the policing watchdog over the intelligence that led to Maccabi Tel Aviv fans being banned showed a “failure of leadership”.

The force has apologised saying it did not deliberately distort evidence that was used by Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group for the 6 November game.

Chief Constable Craig Guildford remains in post but faces a meeting on 27 January where he will be held to account by Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster who has the authority to sack him.

Guildford earlier apologised in a letter for providing incorrect evidence to a Home Affairs Select Committee, which had included denying AI was used in a report that led to the Israeli fans’ ban.

Mahmood told the Commons on Wednesday His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Andy Cooke had found “confirmation bias” in police intelligence gathering.

She said: “The force, we now discover, conducted little engagement with the Jewish community and none with the Jewish community in Birmingham before a decision was taken.”

Sir Andy’s interim report, commissioned by Mahmood, found that “rather than follow the evidence, the force sought only the details to support their desired position to ban the fans,” Mahmood told MPs.

“He shows that the police overstated the threat posed by the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, while understating the risk that was posed to the Israeli fans if they travelled to the area,” she said.

The decision to ban the fans from the game on 6 November was taken by the city’s Safety Advisory Group based on evidence shared by police.

In his apology, Guildford admitted AI had assisted searches and provided incorrect evidence that helped inform the decision.

Some of the intelligence referred to a fixture between Maccabi Tel Aviv and West Ham that did not take place.

At appearances on 1 December and 6 January, Guildford told the Home Affairs Select Committee the force “do not use AI”, rather that it was a Google search that provided the erroneous information.

In his letter to the chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee published on Wednesday, Guildford said the information “arose as result of a use of Microsoft Copilot” and offered a “profound apology” for the mistake.

Sir Andy’s review found eight inaccuracies in a report from the force to Birmingham’s Sag, including a reference to the non-existent Tel Aviv-West Ham game.

Others included overstating the number of Dutch police officers deployed during a Maccabi match in Amsterdam and claims Muslim communities had been intentionally targeted by Tel Aviv fans.

The decision on the ban by the Safety Advisory Group – which is made up of representatives from the council, police and other authorities – prompted political outrage, including from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

Guildford has insisted the decision was not politically influenced.

In a joint statement, the Jewish Leadership Council and Board of Deputies of British Jews said the interim report confirmed their “long-held concerns”.

“The threats posed by Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were overstated based on numerous inaccurate claims, and the genuine risk to them was understated,” they said.

“The HMIC report has also confirmed there was a failure to engage with the local Jewish community.”

They called on the police and crime commissioner to “exercise his authority” and dismiss Guildford “without delay”.

“This case signals wider concerns about the factors influencing police judgement and decision making,” they added.

West Midlands Police said it would continue to engage with the inspection and said the findings recognised the “unintentional nature” of its errors.

A spokesperson said: “We are extremely sorry for the impact these have had on individuals and their communities.

“We are taking immediate action to address the matters raised in these preliminary findings.

“We know that mistakes were made but reiterate the findings that none of this was done with an intent of deliberate distortion or discrimination.”

They said planning around the football match was about “public safety of all communities”.

“We will now work tirelessly to rebuild confidence in West Midlands Police,” the force added.

Foster said he wanted to question Guildford further on the matter at his Accountability and Governance Board, in a meeting scheduled for 27 January.

He said he acknowledged the “significant strength of feeling” on the matter and said he had read Sir Andy’s “preliminary views”.

“I have been sent that letter having had no sight of, or briefing on, its contents before today. I must now give it careful and detailed consideration,” Foster said.

He added it was his statutory duty to hold Guildford to account and he planned to give issues “full and proper consideration”.

The West Midlands Mayor, Richard Parker, and Birmingham City Council leader John Cotton also said he should stand down.

Following Mahmood’s statement, shadow home secretary Chris Philp also called for the chief constable to be sacked, describing the saga as a “shameful episode”.

He said West Midlands Police failed to act on the threat of “vicious antisemitism” and that this was done “through weakness and fear”.

Mahmood said home secretaries no longer had the power to dismiss the heads of police forces following the reforms in 2011.

She added that she intended to restore these powers in cases where there had been persistent failures.

Philp challenged Mahmood’s position on this point, adding: “She must stop pretending to have no power and actually act.”