West Midlands police chief to retire after resisting calls to quit over Maccabi Tel Aviv fans ban row
The West Midlands Police chief is set to announce his retirement. Independent He understands this after resisting calls to resign over his handling of a ban from Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending a match in Birmingham.
It comes after a damning report revealed police chief Craig Guildford had produced exaggerated evidence to justify his decision to ban Israeli fans from the Europa League match against Aston Villa on November 6.
He is expected to retire from his post after facing persistent pressure to resign, with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Health Minister Wes Streeting among senior figures calling for him to leave.
It is understood police and crime commissioner Simon Foster will make the announcement at 4pm. But critics said Mr Guildford should “go now” rather than “sting away” the process.
Gideon Falter, chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, said following news of his resignation: “Under Craig Guildford’s leadership, West Midlands Police lied and confused by victim-blaming Jews rather than tackling Islamists.
“The retirement of West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster, following his abject failure to remove him, should result in Mr Foster’s resignation as well. In any event, Mr Guildford’s should not be the last rift between the force’s leaders and frankly he cannot be replaced by another senior figure caught up in the same scandal.”
Mr Guildford left his post following intense scrutiny, during which supporters of the Israeli team were banned from attending the match at Villa Park by the local Security Advisory Group (Sag) over safety concerns, on the advice of the police force.
Sir Andy’s review found eight “inaccuracies” in a report the force sent to Birmingham’s Sag, including a reference to a non-existent game between Tel Aviv and West Ham that was found to be an “AI hallucination” produced by Microsoft Copilot.
Other inaccuracies included exaggerating the number of Dutch police officers deployed during the match, claims that fans were affiliated with the Israel Defense Forces, claims that Muslim communities were deliberately targeted by Tel Aviv fans, and reports that several Dutch police officers were injured in the mayhem.
Shabana Mahmood told MPs that the police force’s findings into the agency’s controversial intelligence collection showed “confirmation bias” over the decision to block Israeli football team fans from attending Villa Park in November.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Ms Mahmood said there had been a “failure in leadership” and that the report by the chief inspector of police, Sir Andy Cooke, was “damning” and that she had “no confidence” in him.
Ms Mahmood also expressed disappointment at her inability to personally sack chief constable Craig Guildford; According to him, this power was removed from the interior minister’s purview during the coalition government’s reforms in 2011, which introduced police and crime commissions.
The power to sack Mr Guildford lies with West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Simon Foster, who refused to do so on Wednesday while awaiting the outcome of a parliamentary inquiry into the matter.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was “absolutely shocked” that Craig Guildford remained in his post following the review, adding on Thursday morning that he would be “appalled” if he was still in office by the end of the day.
He added that his failure to resign was a “stain on his character”.
Culture Minister Lisa Nandy also told the House of Commons on Thursday she was “surprised” Mr Guildford had not yet backed down.
Lord Walney, the government’s former counter-extremism adviser, said: Independent: “Finally, Craig Guilford appears to have resigned himself to the inevitable after his behavior embarrassed the policing profession. He could have resigned honorably when the mishandling of the Maccabi Tel Aviv incident was first revealed, but the way he is holding on means he will be closely watched to make sure he gets out the door as quickly as possible.”
“If he tries to twist this to get a better deal it’s inexcusable. He needs to go now so a major culture change can begin in the force.”
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