Jewish leaders have called for assurances that the failures surrounding the ban of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans will not be repeated, after the police watchdog announced misconduct investigations into senior West Midlands Police officers.
Former Chief Constable Craig Guildford is being investigated for gross misconduct by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
It is alleged that he failed to ensure due diligence was carried out on an inaccurate intelligence briefing used in the decision to ban the Israeli fans from Aston Villa’s Europa League match.
Three other police officers and a staff member are also facing probes for potential misconduct.
David Toube, general counsel of the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC), welcomed the IOPC investigation but warned the affair had severely damaged Jewish confidence in the police.
Toube said: “The decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans rather than address the real threat of violence that they faced sent a clear message to the Jewish community that we could not be protected by the police from the rising tide of antisemitism.
“The subsequent actions of senior officers in West Midlands Police to use false information to blame the Tel Aviv fans did great damage to the Jewish community's trust in the police.
“The IOPC investigation must establish how a decision with such far-reaching consequences came to be made, and why the safeguards that should have prevented it did not work. The Jewish community is entitled to know how such an outcome was allowed to unfold, and to be assured that it will not be repeated.”
Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies, also said the investigation should ensure the failures were not repeated.
“The IOPC’s announcement reinforces the grave concerns we raised from the outset. Inaccurate and unsubstantiated information appears to have supported a predetermined decision, profoundly damaging the Jewish community’s confidence in West Midlands police.
“While due process must be respected, we welcome this investigation and trust that important lessons be learned, accountability ensured, and that these failures will never be repeated.”
Political figures have also criticised the police handling of the match.
Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy MP said “If the IOPC finds Guildford guilty, he should repay his publicly-funded payout.”
The Conservative frontbencher told the JC: "The scandalous handling of the Maccabi Tel Aviv affair by West Midlands Police was about much more than incompetence and deceit. The police fabricated evidence to paint the Israeli fans as dangerous to local residents, when all along it was Islamist mobs who were arming themselves to attack Jewish visitors. But why?”
Timothy believe that Guildford and the police “pandered to antisemitic pressure from the likes of Ayoub Khan, the local MP, who were lobbying for the ban.
"In so doing they catered to the bigoted demands of Islamist agitators in Birmingham.
“They deferred to the politics of communalism – that is, of ethnic and religious preference and self-interest – over upholding the rule of law. They allowed local Islamist leaders to dictate policing and security decisions based on their own anti-Semitic views.
“This naive – and negligent – pandering to local Islamist interests was the result ultimately of the ideology of multi-culturalism, whereby governments accept wildly differing cultures, norms, rules and laws in different parts of our country, even when these are antithetical to our own values, rather than upholding one common law for all - and equality before it."
The decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from the November 6 match at Villa Park last year attracted widespread criticism, including from then-Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who described it as the “wrong decision”.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood ultimately said say she no longer had confidence in Guildford’s leadership.
The police leader subsequently announced his retirement, describing a “political and media frenzy”.
The IOPC said its investigators had examined operational documents, reports, intelligence research, meeting minutes, emails and other messages, as well as interviewing witnesses and experts.
It said there was evidence that Guildford had oversight of the intelligence briefing document presented to the Birmingham Safety Advisory Group which contained inaccurate information.
Another senior serving officer is being investigated over the document, while a member of staff is facing investigation after allegedly sourcing inaccurate information using AI.
The development came one day after the College of Policing released national training on the responsible use of generative AI.
The e-learning course is built around the principle “use. Check. Own” and is intended to help officers and staff recognise AI’s “limitations and apply professional judgement when using AI-generated content.”
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