Police Chief “Must Be Sacked” Over Claims Force “Scraped” Google to Justify Ban on Israeli Football Fans After Pressure from Pro-Gaza Politicians
Craig Guildford, who heads the West Midlands Police force, has been told his position is “untenable” after being slated by MPs over the decision to ban Israeli football fans from attending a match in the UK. The Mail has more.
Craig Guildford, who heads the West Midlands force, has been warned by Jewish groups and Kemi Badenoch that his position is “untenable” in the wake of an extraordinary Commons committee hearing.
It is understood Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is due to get an initial assessment of the intelligence used to justify the restrictions from the police watchdog next week.
Mr Guildford was grilled yesterday over why it was thought necessary to bar Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from coming to the fixture against Aston Villa in November.
The restriction was placed on the game at Villa Park by the local Safety Advisory Group (SAG), which cited safety concerns based on advice from the police force.
The decision by the SAG – which is made up of representatives from the council, police and other authorities – sparked political outrage, including from Keir Starmer.
Since then, doubts have been growing over the intelligence used by police, including disputes over the accuracy of information.
Newly published documents show police were warned that locals in the majority Muslim community had planned to “arm” themselves if Maccabi fans showed up – evidence that Mr Guildford has been accused of “hiding”.
Gathered intelligence also showed “local hostility towards the visitors based on their nationality”.
Home Affairs Committee chair Dame Karen Bradley told Mr Guildford that it seemed the police had been “scraping” to find a reason for the ban.
“It feels to us, from everything we’ve seen, that there was a need that you felt, that you had to justify banning these fans, and that scraping was done to find a reason,” she said.
Mr Guildford – who was at the committee for the second time – replied: “I’m really sorry if it comes across in that way. That was absolutely not the case.
“The information, the intelligence that we received, that we documented, and we’ve shared absolutely all of that with HMICFRS (His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services) very, very recently was all gone through.”
He added a mistake that was made with regards to intelligence about West Ham United that was from “one individual doing one Google search because he couldn’t find the reference, because it wasn’t there within the system”.
Assistant Chief Constable Mike O’Hara added open source research is “not unusual” in police intelligence-gathering. …
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch was among the voices calling for Craig Guildford to step down or be removed after evidence emerged surrounding the decision to stop fans of the Israeli football team travelling to Villa Park in November.
Ms Badenoch wrote on X: “West Midlands Police capitulated to Islamists and then collaborated with them to cover it up.
“They knew extremists were planning to attack Jews for going to a football match, and their response was to blame and remove Jewish people instead.
“We have had enough of this in Britain. The Chief Constable’s position is untenable. The British police serve the British public, not local sectarian interests.”
Worth reading in full.
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the majority Muslim community had planned to “arm” themselves if Maccabi fans showed up
Why weren’t they told that people who take illegal weapons onto the street will be arrested?
Who would go and do the enforcement? A squad of 4ft 6in, 35kg pink haired arts graduate diversity hires. The police did not want to do this as they would have got pasted or worse. They are scared to death of their own shadows.
Which means that the globalist-reconfigured police force can no longer serve our people.
They haven’t for years.
These west midlands cops seem incredibly cucked, absolutely awful, they need to be sacked summarily.
We’re used to incompetence but combined with instinctive and habitual lies it’s a nightmare.
How is it that every single organ of the state is so utterly hopelessly dysfunctional just when they are trying to control every aspect of our lives?
Well they’re not dysfunctional if you dare to use some hurty words on social media, then they are full on efficient and effective
‘Without fear or favour…’
The fear leads to the favour.
Who is his PCC?
There must be no big pay-off or further pension enhancement. No Home Office job.
When taxpayer funded big ticket oikophobes fail they must learn to expect prompt and full termination with prejudice.
“Terminate with extreme prejudice” will suffice.
Imo, this senior Police officer’s duty is to enforce the Law without fear or favour and never to, ‘bend the Woke knee.’ Either identify and deter, restrain or arrest the threat or, if necessary, line the route with coppers, with riot police on standby, and make it utterly clear to the threat that he and his coppers exist and are paid to enforce the Law without fear or favour.
If not, imo, effectively he’s a captured prisoner of the threat, a moral coward and has no right to be in charge of a squad car let alone a British regional police force.
Brilliant post. 👍
After these tweedle dum and tweedles even dumber from the woke police displaying their medal ribbons presumably for DEI courses, anti-semitism, taking it up the jacksie from the local muslims, came the high ups from the City Council. What comes out of this sorry saga is a tale of why this country is such a mess. The legacy media fail, not for the first time, since there was NO BAN in place. When for the safety of their fans from the local muslim hordes, Maccabi Tel Aviv refused their ticket allocation, there became no need for a ban of any sort. From these Parliamentary hearings we learnt that the council leaders had no idea of how the legislation covering stadium safety actually works and that, to no great surprise, neither do the police and nor are we suprised they are a bunch of liars.
Mr Guildford was simply doing his job in accordance with the priorities of his political superiors.
The deal is simply that if the Regime needs a scapegoat at some point – like now- he’ll fall on his gold-plated sword with a very large severance package, and, if he’s not so much into golf or hobbies, then a nice little earner on a suitable quango, out of the public eye but very much still in the public purse.
The shape of things to come. Local councillors and Ayob Khan decreeing that Birmingham is Islamic and no Jews tolerated, the police acquiescent.
He does look like one…..
So violent elements are placated meaning movements of law abiding people participating in everyday life are curtailed? Which other communities are given those ‘rights’, or have them removed?
What a sorry excuse for a public servant.
When he was told that local Muslim extremists would arm themselves, the correct response was “then you’d better tell them that if they do, they will be nicked because the British police don’t acquiesce with sectarian violence in the UK.”
He didn’t; he surrendered.
Sack him.
^^^this^^^
Wins the Internet Truth Today prize.
it would need the army to control Maccabi fans and Islamists who both have a record of extreme violence