West Midlands Police apologise to MPs for ‘confusion’ over Maccabi ban claims

Police leaders in Birmingham have apologized to MPs following an erroneous claim that the Jewish community supported a ban on fans of the Israeli football team attending an Aston Villa match.

West Midlands Police (WMP) admitted there was “no documented feedback” that British Jews wanted Maccabi Tel Aviv fans banned from the match at Villa Park before it was played on 6 November.

Meanwhile, Birmingham City Council said it planned to commission an independent review to draw lessons from the October decision by the local Safety Advisory Group (SAG) to ban Maccabi fans from the match.

The decision by the SAG, which includes representatives from the council, police and other authorities, sparked political outrage, including from the prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer.

West Midlands Police deputy chief constable Mike O’Hara told the Home Office MPs’ Select Committee earlier this month that members of the Jewish community had told police they did not want Maccabi fans to attend the match.

In a statement issued afterwards, WMP said: “The officer’s intention was not to imply that there were members of the Jewish community who openly supported the exclusion of Maccabi fans.”

Dame Karen Bradley, the Conservative Party chair of the committee, later wrote to the force asking for further clarification of what Mr O’Hara had meant.

In a letter responding to the committee, WMP chief constable Craig Guildford said: “We can confirm that there was no documented feedback from Jewish representatives prior to the decision being forwarded expressing support for the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans.”

But he added that since Mr. O’Hara joined the committee, “members of the Jewish community have reached out to him with individuals expressing their agreement with the SAG decision.”

“Understandably, many community members chose to share their views privately and offer their support in confidence,” the police chief said.

He added: “O’Hara and I would like to take this opportunity to formally apologize to the Home Affairs Select Committee for any confusion that has arisen and would like to reassure you that it was never our intention to mislead.”

Elsewhere, in correspondence between Dame Karen and Birmingham City Council the local authority said this and SAG had “learned a great deal” from developments surrounding the match and planned an independent review.

Richard Brooks, the council’s general manager of city operations, added: “The council and SAG were keen to learn from this experience and improve their processes for the future.

“As such, the council and SAG intend to commence a formal independent forward review process, undertaken by an external law firm, to identify what can be improved from a governance perspective.

“The review will be independent and will be led by a person with relevant experience at an independent law firm.”

Ahead of the match, Sir Keir said Israel had done “everything we could” to ensure Maccabi Tel Aviv fans could support their team in their match against Aston Villa next month following the initial ban, but the match ultimately went ahead without away fans.

The Prime Minister condemned the ban on Maccabi fans traveling to the match as a “wrong decision”.

While a review of the ban continues, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood ordered the police watchdog to examine how forces in England and Wales provide risk assessments to security advisory groups that inform safeguards on high-profile incidents.

Her Majesty’s Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services Inspectorate will hand over their findings to Ms Mahmood by March 31.

Maccabi Tel Aviv, meanwhile, faces condemnation from European football’s governing body UEFA for discriminatory behavior by its fans.

This month, the team was given a one-match suspension and a €20,000 (around £17,500) fine for chanting fans.