The West Midlands police chief Craig Guildford is refusing to resign over the force's use of "exaggerated and untrue" intelligence that led to a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans, despite the home secretary declaring she has lost confidence in him.
Shabana Mahmood told the Commons she had no power to remove Guildford and called for a change in the law to allow home secretaries to dismiss chief constables. It is the first time in 20 years that a home secretary has publicly withdrawn confidence in a serving police leader.
An inspection report by Sir Andy Cooke, the chief inspector of constabulary, found the threat posed by Maccabi fans attending a match at Aston Villa in November was "greatly exaggerated". It said the force made misleading statements through "confirmation bias" and "carelessness rather than any deliberate distortion", and not due to antisemitism or political pressure over the Gaza conflict.
Mahmood said ultimate responsibility rested with Guildford, citing Cooke's criticism that the failings were "symptomatic of a force not applying the necessary strategic oversight". She added: "The chief constable of West Midlands police no longer has my confidence."
Guildford is understood to believe the demands do not require his immediate resignation and will await a decision from Simon Foster, the police and crime commissioner for the West Midlands. Foster, who has praised Guildford's performance, will consider Cooke's report and additional findings before holding a public inquisition on 27 January.
The report highlighted disputed claims from Dutch police about a Maccabi game in Amsterdam, which undermined the force's credibility. A senior policing source described Guildford as a "dead man walking". The force maintains its decisions kept the public safe but accepts there are lessons to be learned.
