West Midlands Police boss declines to sack chief constable amid ‘damning’ review into Aston Villa/Maccabi Tel Aviv fan ban
The West Midlands police and crime commissioner (PCC) has declined to sack his chief constable who lost the confidence of the Home Secretary over the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a match against Aston Villa.
In a statement, PCC Simon Foster said he listened to Shabana Mahmood’s statement on Wednesday (January 14) and awaits a parliamentary report over the matter before considering the position of Chief Constable Craig Guildford.
The Home Secretary told MPs that findings by the policing watchdog into the force’s intelligence gathering show “confirmation bias” over the decision to bar the Israeli football team from attending Villa Park in November.
She said that there had been “a failure of leadership” and that the report by chief inspector of constabulary Sir Andy Cooke had been “damning”.
Ms Mahmood added: “The ultimate responsibility for the force’s failure to discharge its duties on a matter of such national importance rests with the chief constable, and it is for that reason that I must declare today that the chief constable of West Midlands Police no longer has my confidence.”
But she expressed her frustration that she was not able to sack chief constable Mr Guildford herself, a power she said was removed from the Home Secretary’s remit during the coalition government’s reforms which introduced police and crime commissioners in 2011.
Currently the power to sack Mr Guildford lies with PCC Mr Foster.
He said he had not seen the letter from Sir Andy setting out his “preliminary views” before Wednesday and “must now give it careful and detailed consideration”.
“I acknowledge, recognise and understand the significant strength of feeling that is shared by many people, including myself, in connection with this contentious issue,” Mr Foster said.
“It is my statutory duty to hold the chief constable to account for the totality of policing in the West Midlands.
“In order to give all these issues full and proper consideration, I will be taking this matter to a meeting of my accountability and governance board, held in public, on Tuesday, 27 January, 2026 and asking questions of the chief constable.
“In consideration of these matters, it is vital that all involved act in accordance with due process and the law at all times.”
He added that the letter is not the final watchdog report and describes how Sir Andy’s views “may develop or change as more information is gathered”.
Mr Foster is also awaiting the report from the Home Affairs Committee, where Mr Guildford has appeared twice to give evidence over the controversy and apologise over errors in his evidence.
A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: "We continue to actively engage and support HMICFRS's inspection.We have received a copy of the preliminary review today and acknowledge that this recognises the unintentional nature of our errors. We are extremely sorry for the impact these have had on individuals and their communities.
"We are taking immediate action to address the matters raised in these preliminary findings.We know that mistakes were made but reiterate the findings that none of this was done with an intent of deliberate distortion or discrimination.West Midlands Police is an anti-discriminatory organisation and our planning for this football match was always about public safety of all communities.
"We continue to focus on protecting the public of West Midlands and improving our services, as we have done relentlessly during the last several years. We will now work tirelessly to rebuild confidence in West Midlands Police."
