A van with a quote from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on the side passes WMP headquarters (Image: PA)
Embattled police chief Craig Guildford sensationally tried to gag his own officers from discussing the scandal engulfing their force.
Frontline bobbies were told it would be “inappropriate and unprofessional” to discuss the bungled handling of the Aston Villa vs Maccabi Tel Aviv football match.
It comes after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she has lost confidence in the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police after falsified intelligence led to Maccabi Tel Aviv fans being banned from the event.
Ms Mahmood said the force “overstated” the threat posed by Israeli football fans whilst underplaying the risk from local Islamist mobs ahead of the match.
A police watchdog probe into the scandal found the intelligence was “exaggerated” in some cases, whilst in others it was “untrue”.
And Labour Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster refused to sack the Chief Constable, who is clinging to power.
Officers were sent an email detailing what to say if they faced questions on the Maccabi Tel Aviv scandal.
They were told to say: “It would be inappropriate and unprofessional to discuss the future of anyone else within the organisation.
“As a serving member of WMP, my focus, alongside colleagues, is on doing everything possible to keep the people of the West Midlands safe and prevent crime.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said it is “jaw-dropping” Mr Guildford is trying to remain in post.
He added: “I find it even more extraordinary that having lost the confidence of the Home Secretary, who is also one of his local MPs, [he has] still not resigned. I just find that absolutely outrageous.
“The police and crime commissioner is following the due process, but the Home Secretary is not sitting around. She’s abolishing police and crime commissioners. She’s going to change the law to give her and her successors the power to remove chief constables where they fail.
“We don’t expect perfection. We know that people make mistakes, but when they do, we expect honesty and we expect accountability. We haven’t seen that in this case and that’s why he should go and do the right thing.”
Mr Streeting added: “There’s still plenty of time left today. I hope he does the right thing without someone having to take the decision for him.”
And MPs have demanded Mr Guildford is removed from his post.
Tory politicians Saqib Bhatti, Wendy Morton and Mike Wood said: “The responsibility now falls upon the Labour Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster, to do the right thing for the people of the West Midlands.
“Instead of decisive action, the Police and Crime Commissioner has opted to wait a further two weeks before deciding. This incident has done serious damage to the reputation of the West Midlands and of West Midlands Police garnering attention from across the world.
“Sitting on the fence for a further two weeks and dragging this out will only do more harm.
“This failure to sack the Chief Constable demonstrates a profound weakness in the Police and Crime Commissioner’s role and a lack of resolve to uphold public confidence in policing.
“The PCC exists to provide accountability. In this case, that accountability has been entirely absent.
“If he does not sack the Chief Constable, the only conclusion that can be drawn from this is that the Police and Crime Commissioner is not up to the job.
“This sorry saga has brought the reputation of the West Midlands and England’s second largest city into disrepute. It has damaged confidence in West Midlands Police and raised serious questions about the integrity and effectiveness of its leadership.”
A senior police source said: “We are all completely baffled. He is a dead man walking, he needs to go. There is agreement across the political sphere and the policing sphere. He should carry the can. If he doesn’t he will drag us all down.”
Home Secretary Ms Mahmood said a police watchdog report concluded police “overstated the threat posed by the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans” whilst underplaying the “risk” posed by Islamist mobs in Birmingham.
And revealing she had lost confidence in the Chief Constable, Ms Mahmood told MPs: “What is clear from this report is that, on an issue of huge significance to the Jewish community in this country, and to us all, we have witnessed a failure of leadership that has harmed the reputation and eroded public confidence in West Midlands Police and policing more broadly.
“Faced by a game of such importance, the Chief Constable of the force, Craig Guildford, should have ensured more professional and thorough work was done.
“As Sir Andy himself says: The shortcomings detailed in his report are: Symptomatic of a force not applying the necessary strategic oversight and not paying enough attention to important matters of detail including at the most senior levels.
“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.
“It has been, as I understand it, over 20 years since a Home Secretary last made such a statement.
“But on the evidence provided by Sir Andy Cooke, the Chief Inspector of Policing, that is now the case.”
Police watchdog Sir Andy Cooke found that West Midlands were guilty of “confirmation bias”, seeking only evidence to support their desire for a ban rather than “following the evidence”.
This saw the force focus on a Dutch game where there had been violence, but not more peaceful matches in Greece, Ukraine and Denmark.
Inaccurate claims included links between fans and the Israeli Defense Forces, the targeting of Muslim communities, the mass tearing down of Palestinian flags, and attacks on police officers and on taxi drivers.
The Labour Home Secretary slammed the intelligence failures.
She said: “The West Midlands Police engagement with the Dutch police is one of the most disquieting elements of Sir Andy’s report.
“The summary, provided as evidence to the Safety Advisory Group ahead of their crucial meeting on the 24th October was inaccurate.
“Claims including the number of police officers deployed, links between fans and the Israeli Defense Forces, the targeting of Muslim communities, the mass tearing down of Palestinian flags, attacks on police officers and on taxi drivers were all either exaggerated or simply untrue.”
And the Home Secretary will reintroduce powers to allow her to sack chief constables.
Mr Guildford admitted his force used AI to find evidence of trouble involving the Israeli team.
And it justified banning fans after the AI search found social media posts about violence at a fictitious match involving West Ham United on November 9 2023.
That day, West Ham were playing against Greek side Olympiacos. Maccabi Tel Aviv, meanwhile, were playing in Lublin, Poland.
