West Midlands Police chief retires following Maccabi fan ban scandal

The decision follows WMP’s controversial recommendation to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending their side’s clash with Aston Villa in November.

A report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Sir Andy Cooke into West Midlands Police was described as “damning” by the home secretary on Wednesday.

Shabana Mahmood told MPs that she no longer had confidence in Guildford, but the power to dismiss a chief constable was reserved to Foster as the PCC.

Foster acknowledged Cooke’s report “set out significant preliminary concerns and shortcomings in relation to the preparation and planning by West Midlands Police”, but also thanked Guildford for “the many positive achievements and contributions” during his tenure as chief constable and thanked him for his service.

WMP’s decision to recommend a ban on Maccabi fans has been hugely contested.

In November, the JC first revealed that their portrayal of events involving Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam in 2024 was contradicted by official Dutch reports.

The mayor of Amsterdam also told the JC that she did not recognise figures cited by West Midlands Police in their reports.

The force also came under significant criticism for providing inaccurate information to the Home Affairs Select Committee.

Senior officers from the force wrongly claimed that members of the Jewish community backed their decision to ban the Maccabi fans, something which they later apologised for.

Similarly, the force’s intelligence report contained a reference to a fixture between Maccabi and West Ham United that never took place. Guildford initially denied that this was the result of a so-called “hallucination” by artificial intelligence software, but was forced to admit this was correct and apologise earlier this week.

Senior Conservative politicians had been calling for Guildford’s resignation earlier this month after his second testimony before the Home Affairs Select Committee.

There, he admitted that WMP had been aware of a potential threat to Maccabi fans by locals wanting to arm themselves, but had avoided telling the MPs this fact before because it was the first time they had “asked for that detail”.

Reacting to Guildford’s resignation, Shabana Mahmood said: “The findings of the Chief Inspector were damning. They set out a catalogue of failings that have harmed trust in West Midlands Police.”

The home secretary said that by stepping down he had done “the right thing” and paid tribute to his “years of service”.

However, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said that Guildford should have been sacked rather than be allowed to resign.

“Craig Guildford disgraced himself and his force”, he said, adding: “Allowing Islamists to force the banning of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and then fabricating evidence to pretend the ban was because of the Maccabi fans own behaviour was appalling”.

Philp continued: “Craig Guildford should have been fired by the Labour Police and Crime Commissioner - but he was too weak to act Craig Guildford’s move to retire is simply not good enough. He should now face gross misconduct proceedings through an IOPC investigation - which can continue even after retirement or resignation. I will now be writing to the IOPC to call for this.”

Phil Rosenberg, President of the Board of Deputies, said that it was right that Guildford depart his role “After the calamitous handling of the Aston Villa versus Maccabi Tel Aviv fixture and its aftermath”.

He continued: “We are grateful to the Home Secretary and politicians across all the main parties for the clear stance they have taken on this matter, including the work of the Home Affairs Select Committee and HMIC in getting to the facts.”