UK Home Secretary declares loss of confidence in West Midlands Police chief after reasons for banning Israeli fans found false
The British Home Secretary declared yesterday that the head of the West Midlands police no longer had her confidence, following revelations of fabricated evidence related to the decision to ban Israeli football fans from Birmingham last November.
The House of Commons Select Committee questioned police chiefs in two sessions, on Dec. 1, 2025, and Jan. 6, 2026, about the reasons for banning Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending the Aston Villa game in Birmingham on Nov. 6, 2025. Chaired by Dame Karen Bradley, the committee found three instances of falsified evidence related to the ban.
It came to light in December that the intelligence report presented as coming from the Dutch police had been fabricated, as confirmed by the Dutch police. Now it has surfaced that an entire football game submitted as incriminating evidence against the Maccabi fans had been created by AI and never actually took place. Moreover, claims that the Jewish community in Birmingham had been consulted had also been found false, and the police have since sent an apology in acknowledgement.
Shabana Mahmood, the MP for Birmingham Ladywood, told the House of Commons yesterday, “Claims including those about the number of police officers deployed, the links between fans and the Israel Defence Forces, the targeting of Muslim communities, the mass tearing down of Palestinian flags, and attacks on police officers and taxi drivers were all either exaggerated or simply untrue.”
“Sir Andy Cooke’s report is devastating,” she said, speaking of the investigation headed by Sir Cooke, His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFR).
“It catalogues failures that did not just affect the traveling fans but let down our entire Jewish community in the West Midlands and across the country,” Mahmood explained, adding, “I speak today not just as Home Secretary, but as a Member of Parliament for a Birmingham constituency.”
“In his report, Sir Andy says that he believes that the police acted in an attempt to avoid long-term damage to local community relations; if that is the case, what a grossly misguided effort it was.”
She continued that rather than following the evidence, the force “sought only evidence to support their desired position, which was to ban the fans.”
In a post of her speech on 𝕏, the Home Secretary described the findings as “damning,” saying, “We have witnessed a failure of leadership that has harmed the reputation of and eroded public confidence in West Midlands Police, and policing more broadly.”
“As I said in Parliament today, I must declare that the Chief Constable of West Midlands police no longer has my confidence."
Sir Andy’s findings are damning — there is no other way to describe them.
— Shabana Mahmood MP (@ShabanaMahmood) January 14, 2026
We have witnessed a failure of leadership that has harmed the reputation of and eroded public confidence in West Midlands Police, and policing more broadly.
As I said in Parliament today, I must declare… pic.twitter.com/Jz4y9fAcH9
As strong as her words may be, Mahmood stopped short of firing the Chief Constable, Craig Guildford, saying that she does not have the authority to do so since the power was removed from her position in 2011. Instead, the decision lies with the local police and crime commissioner, Simon Foster.
In a statement, Foster said, “I acknowledge, recognise and understand the significant strength of feeling that is shared by many people, including myself, in connection with this contentious issue. His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary has written a letter to the Home Secretary to set out his ‘preliminary views,’ in relation to the match assessment and categorisation carried out by West Midlands Police around the Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Aston Villa fixture on 6 November 2025.”
He added, “I have listened to the Home Secretary’s statement in the House of Commons and the questions that followed. I await the Home Affairs Select Committee report. It is my statutory duty to hold the Chief Constable to account for the totality of policing in the West Midlands.”
“In order to give all these issues full and proper consideration, I will be taking this matter to a meeting of my Accountability and Governance Board, held in public, on Tuesday 27 January 2026 and asking questions of the Chief Constable,” he said.
Jo Elizabeth has a great interest in politics and cultural developments, studying Social Policy for her first degree and gaining a Masters in Jewish Philosophy from Haifa University, but she loves to write about the Bible and its primary subject, the God of Israel. As a writer, Jo spends her time between the UK and Jerusalem, Israel.
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