Image source, House of CommonsImage caption, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told MPs she had lost confidence in West Midlands Chief Constable Craig Guildford over the Maccabi Tel Aviv fan banBySusie Rack and Alex McIntyre, West MidlandsPublished14 January 2026 Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood says she has lost confidence in West Midlands Police's chief constable after Israeli football fans were banned from a match against Aston Villa. Mahmood told MPs a "damning" review from the policing watchdog over the intelligence that led to Maccabi Tel Aviv fans being banned showed a "failure of leadership". The force has apologised saying it did not deliberately distort evidence that was used by Birmingham's Safety Advisory Group for the 6 November game. Chief Constable Craig Guildford remains in post, but faces a meeting on 27 January to be questioned by Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster who has the authority to sack him.
Published: January 14, 2026 5:23 pm
Source: BBC — Read original