The West Midlands police and crime commissioner has said politicians provided a “degree of fiction” regarding his power to sack a police chief over the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, adding it was not an “episode of The Apprentice”.
The home secretary withdrew her confidence in chief constable Craig Guildford after an official inquiry found West Midlands police had “exaggerated” intelligence to justify a ban on fans attending the Europa League match against Aston Villa last year, leading to calls for the police and crime commissioner to sack him. Despite this, Guildford remained in post for a further two days until he announced his retirement.
Simon Foster said he had started the process that would enable him to sack Guildford on 15 January, the day the preliminary report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of the Constabulary (HMIC) was released.
At an accountability and governance board meeting chaired by Foster on Tuesday, he was asked why he had not sacked the chief constable immediately. “There’s no legal power on the part of a police and crime commissioner to summarily sack a chief constable on the spot,” Foster said. “It’s not an episode of The Apprentice. You can’t just call the chief constable in and point at him across a desk and say: ‘You’re fired.’ There has to be a lawful process.”
He added: “It’s a detailed process and it requires me to not only liaise with HMIC, but also the police and crime panel, with the chief constable. I do think that to the extent that has not been widely understood among the media, the public and politicians has provided a degree of fiction and unreality. I have to act in accord with the law.”
Foster said that he instructed the police watchdog to investigate Guildford’s role in the ban on away fans days after the chief constable had announced his retirement. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is also independently investigating to determine if any officer or staff member may have a case to answer for misconduct.
A former Conservative government gave police and crime commissioners the power to appoint and dismiss chief constables. However, the government has now announced plans to bring this power back to the Home Office.
Foster, who has faced calls from some to resign due to his response to the inspectorate’s report, said he was “absolutely committed and dedicated to holding West Midlands police to account”.
The ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, which was ultimately made by the council-led security advisory group (SAG), sparked outrage when it was announced in October last year. Keir Starmer described it as “wrong” and suggested it amounted to antisemitism.
In the aftermath of the announcement, a string of reports and admissions revealed West Midlands police had failed to consult the local Jewish community before the decision, and police intelligence used to justify the ban included reference to a nonexistent match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and West Ham that was produced with the use of artificial intelligence.
In an accountability and governance board meeting chaired by Foster on Tuesday, the acting chief constable of West Midlands police, Scott Green, admitted the force had “overstated” intelligence and that its record keeping was not “where it needs to be”.
In a letter published before the meeting, Green offered a “full and sincere apology” on behalf of the police and admitted the force’s response to criticisms “was too defensive”.
Although Green said he could not comment on many issues due to the ongoing investigation by the police watchdog, the acting chief constable pledged to rebuild trust with local communities and set out some changes – including antisemitism training for officers and a review on the use of AI.
A report from the home affairs select committee, who also quizzed officers on the decision to ban away fans, is due in February. The full report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of the Constabulary is due in the summer.
