Mahmood calls for police chief to go over fan ban

Home secretary pledges law change after report finds West Midlands force exaggerated evidence on Israeli supporters

- DAVID MADDOX

Shabana Mahmood has declared that she has "no confidence" in the chief constable of West Midlands Police after a damning report found that the force had exaggerated evidence to justify its decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a match against Aston Villa.

Ms Mahmood accused the force of ignoring the local Jewish community and using "confirmation bias" to exclude Israeli football fans from attending the Europa League clash at Villa Park last November, after safety concerns were cited as the reason for its decision.

Addressing the House of Commons in an emergency statement yesterday, Ms Mahmood said there had been "a failure of leadership", adding that "rather than follow the evidence, the force sought only the evidence to support their desired position to ban the fans".

Ms Mahmood is the first home secretary in 20 years to call for a police chief to be removed, but she is unable to sack the chief constable of the force, Craig Guildford, because of a change in the law under the coalition government in 2011. That power lies instead with the West Midlands police and crime commissioner, Simon Foster, who has said he will formally review the evidence on decision-making around the ban.

But in the light of the scandal, Ms Mahmood announced plans to bring in legislation that would restore power to the home secretary to sack police chiefs.

An independent report into the decision-making around the ban, by Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Andy Cooke, found that the move was based on false information. It also found, according to Ms Mahmood, that:

• A summary of conversations with Dutch police about what had happened when Maccabi played in the Netherlands was "inaccurate" and the claims made within it were "all either exaggerated or simply untrue"

• West Midlands Police had "conducted little engagement with the Jewish community, and none with the Jewish community in Birmingham"