Shabana Mahmood has expressed strong dissatisfaction with the chief constable of West Midlands Police. The Home Secretary criticized a lack of leadership that led to the incorrect exclusion of Israeli football fans from a match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Birmingham last November. Mahmood introduced new legislation enabling Home Secretaries to dismiss police chiefs, a power previously removed by the former Conservative government.
Following a review by Chief Inspector of Policing Sir Andy Cooke, Mahmood stated that the findings were highly critical, leading her to lose confidence in the chief of West Midlands Police, Craig Guildford. She highlighted that the police force selectively gathered evidence to justify their decision to ban the fans, with Guildford subsequently admitting to providing inaccurate information to Members of Parliament.
Mahmood emphasized that the police exaggerated the threat posed by Maccabi Tel Aviv fans while downplaying the risks faced by Israeli fans. She revealed that misinformation was presented to MPs due to an “AI hallucination,” leading to a lack of engagement with the Jewish community in Birmingham prior to the decision.
Although there has been a call for Guildford’s resignation, Birmingham Perry Barr MP Ayoub Khan defended him, arguing that the Chief Constable was being unfairly targeted. Khan praised West Midlands Police for their community engagement, citing past instances of handling far-right protests effectively. While acknowledging procedural shortcomings, he stressed that the decision to ban Maccabi fans was justified due to concerns about racism and violence.
Guildford faced pressure to step down after admitting to providing misleading information to MPs, attributing the error to a Microsoft Co Pilot mistake. The ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending the Villa Park match was enforced by the local Safety Advisory Group based on police advice.
In a letter to Dame Karen Bradley, Guildford apologized for the misinformation, attributing it to an incorrect Google search. He clarified that there was no intention to mislead the Committee and acknowledged the error in intelligence regarding the West Ham match with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
The report from Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Andy Cooke highlighted multiple errors in intelligence handling by West Midlands Police. The Home Office announced that the Home Secretary would review the findings and make a statement in the House of Commons, while the authority to dismiss Guildford lies with West Midlands police and crime commissioner Simon Foster, who plans to conduct a formal review of the ban decision-making process.