The Home Secretary has publicly declared she has lost confidence in the chief constable of West Midlands Police following a scathing review into the force's controversial decision to ban fans of an Israeli football team from a match in Birmingham.
Watchdog finds 'confirmation bias' and leadership failure
Addressing the House of Commons on Wednesday 14 January 2026, Shabana Mahmood presented the findings of a report by chief inspector of constabulary Sir Andy Cooke. She described the review into the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters attending a Europa Conference League match at Aston Villa's Villa Park in November as "damning".
Ms Mahmood told MPs the report revealed a "failure of leadership" within West Midlands Police. She stated the force demonstrated "confirmation bias", seeking only evidence to support a pre-determined decision to ban the fans, rather than following the available intelligence.
"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," the Home Secretary said.
AI 'hallucination' and multiple inaccuracies uncovered
The policing watchdog's investigation identified eight significant inaccuracies in the intelligence report West Midlands Police provided to Birmingham's Safety Advisory Group (SAG), which made the final ban decision.
One notable error was a reference to a non-existent football match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and West Ham United. This was found to be an "AI hallucination" generated by the Microsoft Copilot tool used by the force.
Other inaccuracies included overstating the number of Dutch police officers deployed at a related match, incorrectly claiming fans had links to the Israeli Defence Forces, and falsely stating that Muslim communities had been intentionally targeted by the Israeli fans.
Ms Mahmood also highlighted that Chief Constable Craig Guildford gave incorrect evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee by claiming AI was not used to prepare the reports, a statement later refuted by one of his own officers.
Political fallout and calls for resignation
The Home Secretary stated that the ultimate responsibility for the force's failures rested with Mr Guildford, leading her to declare he no longer had her confidence. She expressed frustration that reforms introduced in 2011 prevent her from directly sacking a chief constable, a power she now vows to reintroduce.
Following her statement, Labour leader of Birmingham City Council, Councillor John Cotton, called for Mr Guildford to stand down immediately. He argued this was necessary to restore public confidence and allow lessons to be learned.
Sir Andy Cooke's review concluded there was no evidence of antisemitism influencing the decision, but found a clear "imbalance" in the information used. He criticised the force for lacking the foresight to recognise the long-term, global consequences of its actions.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Guildford apologised to MPs for providing an error in his evidence to the Home Affairs Committee. He has consistently insisted the decision was not politically motivated.
