Under-fire police chief sensationally blames ‘frenzy’ as he quits over scandal | Politics | News

Under-fire police chief Craig Guildford has blamed his resignation over the Israeli football fan scandal on “political and media frenzy”. Mr Guildford, who was prepared to hide his pension, dodged sacking after West Midlands police were accused of using “fake intelligence” to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending an Aston Villa match.

But being allowed to retire from his £220,000-a-year role sparked a fresh wave of anger and calls for police and crime commissioner Simon Foster to also resign. “A chief constable cannot bow to the demands of an Islamist gang,” critics warned, while some called for him to face a police standards investigation. This comes after Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood said she had lost confidence in the Chief Constable.

Mr Guildford said: “I have concluded that the political and media frenzy around me and my position has undermined all the great work my officers and staff have undertaken to serve communities in the West Midlands.

“I have carefully considered my position and have concluded that retirement is in the best interest of my organization, myself and my family.

“It has been the honor of my career to serve as Chief Constable of West Midlands Police.

“Together with the force’s dedicated and hard-working workforce, we have turned this force around, so I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the extraordinary level of service this force provides to the public.

“I know this will continue thanks to all the officers, staff and volunteers who work for WMP and strive to keep the public safe.

“I would also like to thank all communities across the West Midlands for your support. I will greatly miss the incredible people I have had the privilege of meeting, working with and serving across the region.”

Ms Mahmood said the force had “exaggerated” the threat posed by Israeli football fans but had underestimated the risk from local Islamist gangs ahead of the match.

The police watchdog investigation into the scandal found that intelligence was “exaggerated” in some cases and “inaccurate” in others.

Mr Foster, the Labor PCC, initially refused to sack the Chief Constable because he was trying to cling to power.

And Mr Guildford wanted to remain in office at least until the end of the month.

But pressure continued to mount after Downing Street said it had lost confidence in him.

And Mr Foster said on Friday night: “Chief Constable Craig Guildford retired from West Midlands Police today with immediate effect.

“In doing so he acted honorably and in the best interests of West Midlands Police and our region, and I welcome his decision.”

Responding to Mr Foster’s statement, the Home Secretary said: “The chief inspector’s findings were very bad. They produced a catalog of failures that damaged confidence in West Midlands Police.”

“Craig Guildford did the right thing by resigning today.

“I would like to thank him for his years of service and recognize the work of officers at West Midlands Police who keep their communities safe every day.

“Today is a crucial first step in rebuilding trust and confidence in the force among all the communities they serve.”

And Mr Guildford could now face an investigation from the police standards watchdog.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: “A Chief Constable cannot give in to the demands of an Islamist mob, mislead Parliament and keep his job. I am glad he has now ‘retired’ but it is extraordinary that the Labor PCC and the Home Secretary did not simply sack him.”

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told the Daily Express: “Craig Guildford has embarrassed himself and his power.

“It was a shame to allow Islamists to force a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and then fabricate evidence to claim the ban was due to the Maccabi fans’ own behavior.

“Craig Guildford should have been sacked by the Labor police and crime commissioner but he was too weak to act. Craig Guildford’s move to retire is simply not good enough.

“He must now face serious misconduct proceedings through an IOPC investigation, which could continue even after retirement or resignation. I will now write to the IOPC to call for this.”

Reform England head of policy Zia Yusuf said: “Craig Guildford should not be allowed to retire as West Midlands Police chief, he should be held accountable for his actions. He should be sacked following his disgusting decision to ban fans from attending the Maccabi Tel Aviv match against Aston Villa last year.

“What emerged from Mr Guildford’s appearance before the select committee was extraordinary. He misled the public and capitulated to violent extremism. His position had already become untenable.

“We must not allow Islamists, thugs or terrorists to believe that they can dictate what happens on our streets.”

Gideon Falter, chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Mr Guildford should not be the last to leave the force’s leadership and frankly he cannot be replaced by another senior figure involved in the same scandal.

“The disgraceful behavior of Mr Guildford and Mr Foster shows who is really in control of local affairs in Birmingham.

“Our focus must now turn to the Islamists who intimidated the police to carry out their desire to ban Jews: Which individuals, groups and radical mosques participated in the campaign?

“What happened in Birmingham is a test case for the British state.

“The man who was the national police officer, leading on ethics and misconduct issues, distorted the truth and appeased the Islamists in front of the nation, and instead of being summarily dismissed, he was allowed to proceed as he wished, with all the enormous benefits of retirement.”

Police watchdog Sir Andy Cooke found the West Midlands was guilty of “confirmation bias” by only looking for evidence to support requests for a ban rather than “following the evidence”.

This saw the force focus on a Netherlands match where there was violence but peaceful matches in Greece, Ukraine and Denmark did not.

False claims included links between fans and the Israel Defense Forces, targeting of Muslim communities, mass destruction of Palestinian flags, and attacks on police officers and taxi drivers.

Mr Guildford admitted his forces had used artificial intelligence to find evidence of problems involving the Israeli team.

And it justified banning fans after AI research found social media posts of violence at a fictitious match involving West Ham United on November 9, 2023.

That day West Ham were playing against Greek team Olympiacos. Meanwhile, Maccabi Tel Aviv was playing in Lublin, Poland.