Sarah Jullian, Radio WMand
Aida Fofana,West Midlands
Labour PartyThe Campaign Against Antisemitism has called for the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster to resign.
Chief Constable Craig Guildford retired on Friday after criticism of the decision to ban Israeli fans from a Europa League football match against Aston Villa in November. Stephen Silverman, from the campaign group, said there was an “institutional” problem.
“The police and crime commissioner prevaricated, procrastinated, refused to get rid of Mr Guildford when it was quite clear that that was the only route possible,” Silverman said.
The commissioner has not commented on calls for him to resign.
“It seems that there is an institutional problem within the force that is not just about the chief constable.
“Clearly, with regard to the Maccabi Tel Aviv episode, it can’t just have been Craig Guilford who had his fingers in this squalid mess, there must have been others in his leadership team who were equally culpable.
“Now with the latest revelations, it looks like there’s a problem within the force from top to bottom,” he added.
Foster, who had the power to dismiss the chief constable, welcomed the police chief’s decision to retire on Friday.
He said Guildford had “acted with honour and in the best interests of West Midlands Police”.
Non-existent fixture
Independent MP Ayoub Khan, whose constituency includes Villa Park, said the former chief constable had been treated unfairly and denied claims police were too close to the Muslim community during a decision to ban Israeli fans from Birmingham.
“When we heard the word Islamist and thugs and all of the narratives which are being used as a broad brush used to undermine Muslims in Birmingham, we must nip this in the bud, because we know that the chief constable did not get influenced by any community,” Khan said.
A preliminary review by the policing watchdog found “confirmation bias” influenced the decision to bar supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv from attending Villa Park.
Following this, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she had lost confidence in the chief constable.
His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Andy Cooke said several “inaccuracies” had been included in a report by West Midlands Police, including reference to a non-existent fixture between Maccabi Tel Aviv and West Ham.
