Mahmood has no confidence in police chief after Israeli fan ban

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood says she 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 to be questioned by Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster who has the authority to sack him.

Mahmood told the Commons on Wednesday she intended to restore the power for home secretaries to dismiss chief constables “who fail their communities”.

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

Mahmood told MPs 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 match was taken by the city’s safety 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 a result of a use of Microsoft Copilot” and offered a “profound apology” for the mistake.

A Microsoft spokesperson told the BBC: “We are not able to replicate what is being reported.

“Copilot combines information from multiple web sources into a single response with linked citations. It informs users they are interacting with an AI system and encourages them to review the sources.”

Sir Andy’s review found eight inaccuracies in a report from the force to Birmingham’s safety group, 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 from the safety 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 Foster 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 (WMP) said it would continue to engage with the inspection and said the findings recognised the “unintentional nature” of its errors.

“We are extremely sorry for the impact these have had on individuals and their communities,” a spokesperson said.

“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 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.

Foster 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 have both also called for Guildford to resign.

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

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

Philp also challenged Mahmood over her point about restoring home secretaries’ authority to sack chief constables, adding: “She must stop pretending to have no power and actually act.”