London, England – British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced that she has lost confidence in West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford following the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending a match against Aston Villa last year. She described the report on the decision as “damning” and “devastating.” In a statement to the House of Commons, Mahmood said that the initial review by the Royal Police Inspectorate concluded that West Midlands Police had made serious errors in its risk assessment. Furthermore, she said its conduct was characterized by “confirmation bias,” as it sought to find evidence to support the ban rather than relying on an objective, fact-based assessment.
She added that the report revealed an “exaggeration” of the threat posed by Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, while simultaneously underestimating the risks they faced had they traveled to the area. The report also highlighted poor communication with the Jewish community and confirmed the complete absence of any meaningful engagement with the Jewish community in Birmingham. The Home Secretary acknowledged that she currently lacks the legal authority to dismiss the police chief, explaining that this power rests with the local police and crime commissioner. This stems from reforms implemented in 2011. However, she affirmed the government’s commitment to restoring the power to dismiss police chiefs to the Home Secretary in cases of repeated serious failures.
This comes after the police chief admitted to using the artificial intelligence tool Microsoft Copilot in preparing a report that included inaccurate information, including a reference to a match that never took place. He had previously denied any role for AI in the decision before Parliament. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp called for the chief’s immediate dismissal, describing the incident as a “disgraceful episode” and accusing West Midlands Police of “fabricating allegations” against Israeli fans instead of addressing the threat of “vicious antisemitism.” Mahmood emphasized that the ban had highly sensitive national and international implications. She stressed that the “ultimate responsibility” for this failure lay with the police chief, declaring unequivocally: “He no longer has my confidence.”
