Shabana Mahmood has expressed a strong lack of confidence in the chief constable of West Midlands Police.
The Home Secretary criticized a “failure of leadership” for the erroneous 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 revoked by the previous Conservative government.
Following a critical review by Chief Inspector of Policing Sir Andy Cooke, Mahmood declared her loss of faith in Chief Craig Guildford of the force.
According to Mahmood, West Midlands Police selectively gathered information to support their preconceived decision to prohibit the fans, as revealed by Cooke’s investigation. The pressure for Guildford to resign increased after he admitted to providing inaccurate information to Members of Parliament regarding the ban.
In a rare move, Mahmood stated in the House of Commons that the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police no longer held her confidence, citing evidence from Cooke’s report.
The report highlighted that the police exaggerated the threat from Maccabi Tel Aviv fans while downplaying the risks faced by Israeli fans. It also mentioned a mistaken “AI hallucination” that influenced the dissemination of false information to MPs by Guildford.
The investigation uncovered that the police did not engage significantly with the Jewish community, including those in Birmingham, prior to making the decision.
Despite the findings, Birmingham Perry Barr MP Ayoub Khan defended Guildford, suggesting he was being unfairly targeted. Khan emphasized the police force’s history of collaboration with all communities, even in the face of challenges like far-right demonstrations.
Guildford faced mounting calls for his resignation over the ban. He admitted to providing misleading information to the Home Affairs Select Committee, attributing the error to a faulty Microsoft Co Pilot result. The decision to prohibit Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending the match was made 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 erroneous Google search. He clarified that both himself and Assistant Chief Constable Mike O’Hara had provided incorrect intelligence about a supposed West Ham match with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
The Chief Constable expressed regret for the error and denied any intention to mislead the Committee. He also confirmed that artificial intelligence was not utilized in the decision-making process.
According to reports, the review by Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Andy Cooke highlighted several errors made by West Midlands Police in collecting and handling intelligence.
The Home Office announced that the Home Secretary had received Cooke’s findings and would address them in the House of Commons later. The authority to remove Guildford rests with West Midlands police and crime commissioner Simon Foster, who pledged to conduct a formal review of the ban-related decision-making process.