Birmingham

Manchester police chief criticises decision to ban Maccabi fans

‘I think banning generally is problematic, both practically and tactically’, said Sir Stephen Watson

West Midlands Police repeat claims ‘trashed by the Dutch police’ in letter to key parliamentary committee

Conservative MP Nick Timothy echoed calls for the police to publish all information used to justify Maccabi fan ban

West Midlands Police relied on ‘false intelligence’ for Maccabi ban, say Dutch authorities

Amsterdam police spokesman said he was “surprised” by the allegations of Israeli violence

Letters to the Editor, November 14 2025

Birmingham is the front line of the fight for the soul of our nation

When local authorities and police retreat in the face of extremists, it risks a spiral of fear and grievance. At all levels, national, devolved and local, the state needs to wake up

Birmingham Labour councillor suggested Starmer is biased in favour of Israel ‘because his wife is Jewish’

Bushra Bi apologised for her remarks and said she was committed to ‘ensuring it does not happen again’

Revealed: Pro-Palestine mob plotted to hunt down Maccabi players

WhatsApp messages seen by the JC show activists planned hotel stakeouts to locate Israeli football team ahead of Aston Villa match

Maccabi Tel Aviv may have lost to Villa but they turned up, and showed that the people of Israel live

After filing past hundreds of police officers, the atmosphere in Villa Park stadium was unsettling, with the whole corner of the Doug Ellis stand empty

Police must explain ‘lamentable’ decisions over Maccabi-Villa match, say politicians

An apparent about-turn over the reason for the ban on Israeli fans ‘smacks of victim-blaming’