Former West Midlands Police chief constable Craig Guildford will face a gross misconduct investigation over the force's handling of a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending a match against Aston Villa.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said on Wednesday that Mr Guildford will be investigated over claims he failed to ensure due diligence over a document used to justify the ban. The force was accused of using “falsified intelligence” in the case.
Intelligence 'exaggerated' and 'untrue'
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the force “overstated” the threat posed by Israeli football fans while underplaying the risk from local Islamist mobs ahead of the match. A police watchdog probe into the scandal found the intelligence was “exaggerated” in some cases, while in others it was “untrue”.
Another officer and a staff member are also facing investigation for potential gross misconduct over the mistakes. Two other officers who helped the force plan for the game face accusations of potential misconduct.
Political reaction
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “It is encouraging to see the IOPC are investigating Craig Guildford for gross misconduct, but this scandal should have been dealt with by the PCC [police and crime commissioner] Simon Foster months ago. The police should never allow themselves to be dictated to by Islamist antisemitic extremists, which is what happened here.
“West Midlands Police covered up threats of violence by elements of the local Muslim community towards Jewish football fans. The force then fabricated evidence to pretend the ban was instead because of the Maccabi fans’ own behaviour based on a previous game in Amsterdam. This is simply unacceptable.
“The police's first duty is to protect those under threat of violence. West Midlands Police failed to do this, and it's right that those involved are thoroughly investigated.”
Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy said: “The Maccabi Tel Aviv scandal was a serious failure of policing, and it's right that everyone involved should be investigated over their conduct.
“West Midlands police fabricated intelligence to justify banning Israeli Jewish fans from Villa Park and covered up evidence that local violent, Islamist thugs were planning to arm themselves. No police force should allow racist bigots or the politics of communalism to dictate their decision-making.
“Craig Guildford was allowed to retire and received a substantial taxpayer-funded payout. If the IOPC find him guilty of gross misconduct, he must repay this money immediately, and appropriate steps must be taken.”
Background to the ban
Labour PCC Mr Foster initially refused to sack the chief constable as he attempted to cling on to power. But Mr Guildford quit in January, blaming a “political and media frenzy”.
Former police watchdog Sir Andy Cooke found that West Midlands were guilty of “confirmation bias”, seeking only evidence to support their desire for a ban rather than “following the evidence”. This saw the force focus on a Dutch game where there had been violence, but not more peaceful matches in Greece, Ukraine and Denmark.
Inaccurate claims included links between fans and the Israeli Defense Forces, the targeting of Muslim communities, the mass tearing down of Palestinian flags, and attacks on police officers and on taxi drivers. The ban was also justified after an AI search found social media posts about violence at a fictitious match involving West Ham United on November 9, 2023. That day, West Ham were playing against Greek side Olympiacos, while Maccabi Tel Aviv were playing in Lublin, Poland.
