Shabana Mahmood has declared that she has “no confidence” in Craig Guildford, the chief constable of West Midlands Police, over the ban of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a match against Aston Villa.
Ms Mahmood described a report into the force’s actions leading to the ban as “damning” but insisted she does not have the power to sack the police chief herself because the Tories changed the law in 2011.
The comments came in an emergency statement to the House of Commons over the row coming from the attempt by West Midlands Police and Birmingham’s safety advisory group to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending a European football match against Aston Villa on 6 November last year.
The decision caused international outrage after it emerged that the decision was based on Maccabi being an Israeli club.
An independent report found that it was based on false information with the police even failing to consult the Jewish community.
The home secretary told MPs that it was 20 years since someone holding her position had declared they had no confidence in a chief police officer and that she did not make her comments lightly.
However, she announced she would be bringing in legislation to restore the power of the home secretary to sack police chiefs in the light of the scandal.
Addressing the Commons on Wednesday, Ms Mahmood said a report into the ban by chief inspector of constabulary Sir Andy Cooke had been “damning”.
She said: “The force, we now discover, conducted little engagement with the Jewish community and none with the Jewish community in Birmingham before a decision was taken.”
She said Sir Andy’s report characterised the police’s approach as “confirmation bias” and “rather than follow the evidence, the force sought only the evidence to support their desired position to ban the fans”.
“He shows that the police overstated the threat posed by the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, while understating the risk that was posed to the Israeli fans if they travelled to the area.
“Misleading communications also extend to the words of the Chief Constable himself at his appearance in front of the Home Affairs Select Committee, when he claimed that AI tools were not used to prepare intelligence reports, a claim since refuted by one of his own officers, who blames incorrect evidence on an ‘AI hallucination’.
“What is clear from this report is that on an issue of huge significance to the Jewish community in this country and to us all, we have witnessed a failure of leadership that has harmed the reputation and eroded public schools.”
She added: “The ultimate responsibility for the force’s failure to discharge its duties on a matter of such national importance rests with the chief constable, and it is for that reason that I must declare today that the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police no longer has my confidence.
“It has been, as I understand it, over 20 years since a home secretary last made such a statement, but on the evidence provided by Sir Andy Cooke, the chief inspector of policing, that is now the case.”
The chief constable’s position came into focus after it emerged that he and senior West Midlands police officers had given false and misleading information on the reasons for the ban to the Home Affairs sect Committee in parliament.
