Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has declared that she has lost confidence in West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford, following a critical report into the force's handling of intelligence used to justify a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters attending a match at Aston Villa in November. Mahmood told the Commons that she had no power to remove Guildford, but called for a change in the law to allow home secretaries to dismiss chief constables.
A report by Sir Andy Cooke, the chief inspector of constabulary, found that the threat posed by Maccabi fans was “greatly exaggerated,” leaving the safety committee with little choice but to impose the ban. The report attributed the errors to “confirmation bias” and “carelessness” rather than antisemitism or political pressure.
Mahmood said that the ultimate responsibility lay with Guildford and that his force had failed to discharge its duties on a matter of national importance. Despite the home secretary’s stance, Guildford is determined to remain in his post for now, according to sources. Only Simon Foster, the West Midlands police and crime commissioner, has the power to dismiss him.
Foster has praised Guildford for improving the force’s performance but said he would consider Cooke’s report, a second from the policing inspectorate, and one from MPs, before subjecting Guildford to a public hearing on 27 January. The force maintains that its decisions kept the public safe but accepts lessons must be learned.
The controversy centres on claims about Dutch police intelligence regarding a Maccabi match in Amsterdam in 2024. Dutch police disputed several assertions made by West Midlands officers, undermining the force’s credibility. The home secretary described the engagement with Dutch police as one of the most troubling aspects of the report.
