West Midlands Police apologise to MPs for ‘confusion’ over Maccabi ban claims
Policing leaders in Birmingham have apologised to a cross-party group of MPs after suggesting members of the Jewish community in the city had expressed support for a ban on fans of an Israeli football team attending a match against Aston Villa.
West Midlands Police (WMP) said there was “no documented feedback” British Jews wanted Maccabi Tel Aviv fans barred from the game at Villa Park before it took place on November 6.
Birmingham City Council has meanwhile said it plans to commission an independent review to learn lessons from the decision to bar Maccabi supporters from the match, which was taken by the local Safety Advisory Group (Sag) in October.
The decision by the Sag, which is made up of representatives from the council, police and other authorities, sparked political outrage including from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
West Midlands Police assistant chief constable (ACC) Mike O’Hara earlier this month told the Home Affairs Select Committee of MPs the police had been told by members of the Jewish community they did not want Maccabi fans to attend the match.
WMP subsequently issued a statement of clarification which read: “It was never the intention of the officer to imply that there were members of the Jewish community who had explicitly expressed support for the exclusion of Maccabi fans.”
Dame Karen Bradley, the Conservative chair of the committee, then wrote to the force asking it for further clarification of what ACC O’Hara meant.
In a letter responding to the committee, WMP chief constable Craig Guildford said: “We can confirm that there is no documented feedback from Jewish representatives prior to the decision being communicated which expressed support for the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans.”
However, he added that since ACC O’Hara appeared at the committee, he “has been approached by members of the Jewish community who expressed that they agree with the Sag decision”.
“Understandably, many community members chose to share their views privately, offering their support in confidence”, the chief constable said.
He added: “ACC O’Hara and I would like to take this opportunity to formally apologise to the Home Affairs Select Committee for any confusion caused and would like to reassure you that there was never any intention to mislead whatsoever.”
Elsewhere, in correspondence between Dame Karen and Birmingham City Council, the local authority said it and the Sag had “learnt a great deal” from the fallout about the match, and were planning an independent review.
Richard Brooks, executive director of city operations at the council, added: “The Council and the Sag have been keen to learn from this experience and develop its processes for the future.
“Thus, the council and the Sag intend to commission a formal process of independent forward-looking review undertaken by an external law firm to ascertain what can be improved from a governance perspective.
“The review will be independent, headed by an individual with relevant experience from an independent law firm.”
Amid continued scrutiny of the ban, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has ordered the policing watchdog to examine how forces in England and Wales provide risk assessments to safety advisory groups, which inform on measures around high-profile events.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services will hand its findings to Ms Mahmood by March 31.
Maccabi Tel Aviv has meanwhile faced reprimand by European football governing body Uefa over alleged discriminatory behaviour by its fans.
This month, the team was given a suspended one-match away ban because of chanting by its fans, as well as a fine of 20,000 euro (approximately £17,500).
