Chief Constable's retirement does not excuse police commissioner's fail to lead, says leading Wolverhampton Tory
The immediate retirement of Chief Constable Craig Guildford does not excuse the 'leadership failure' of West Midland police and crime commissioner Simon Foster, a leading Tory has said.
Councillor Simon Bennett, leader of the opposition Conservative Group on Wolverhampton Council, said Mr Guildford's departure did not resolve the wider failure of leadership and accountability that has damaged public confidence in policing across the region.
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Mr Guildford retired this afternoon (Friday) following the fall-out from the decision to ban Israeli football fans from a match against Aston Villa in November, which included errors in evidence given to the home affairs select committee, a formal apology to Parliament, and the Home Secretary’s statement of no confidence in his leadership.
But Councillor Bennett said the central issue now was not the chief constable’s retirement, but the commissioner's failure act decisively.
He said: “Craig Guildford’s retirement confirms that his position had become untenable.
"But the responsibility for dealing with that did not just sit with ministers or Parliament, it sat with the police and crime commissioner, Simon Foster, who had the power to act and chose not to.
“Leadership is about making difficult decisions at the moment they are needed, not waiting for events to take their course.
"Simon Foster delayed, hid behind process, and allowed this to drift until the chief constable chose to retire. That is not accountability, it is a failure of judgement.”
Councillor Bennett said serious questions now remained about how the commissioner intended to restore confidence in his role.
“The PCC exists to represent the public and to hold the police and its leadership to account, not to protect senior officers or manage reputational damage," he said.
"If Simon Foster could not act when trust in West Midlands Police was collapsing nationally and internationally, he must now explain how the public can have confidence that he will act in the future.”
Councillor Bennett said that rebuilding trust in policing would now require transparency, independence and clear leadership from Mr Foster.
“This episode has damaged confidence not just in West Midlands Police, but in the office of police and crime commissioner itself.
"Simon Foster now has a responsibility to explain how he will restore faith that he is truly the public’s representative — not a shield for the police hierarchy.”
