When Craig Guildford tried to justify his police force’s ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans this week, he was accused of a series of contradictions and obfuscations.
Guildford, the chief constable of West Midlands police, strenuously denied his officers had used artificial intelligence [AI] to generate information for a report used to justify the ban on Israeli fans, but went on to admit they had used Google, which has AI features.
He said that the force had known local people, from predominantly Muslim areas, were planning to attack Maccabi fans, but said he had not disclosed this earlier because he had not been specifically asked about it.
Chief Constable Craig Guildford appearing before the home affairs committee
Guildford insisted that there “wasn’t any political interference” in the decision to ban Israeli fans, despite having met Ayoub Khan, the pro-Gaza Independent MP for the area, who supported the move.
One colleague said: “Plenty of other senior police would have resigned for much less. Not Craig. He’s stubborn. He’s digging in.”
The police chief, who has led England’s third-largest police force for four years, is no stranger to controversy. He acted as the “police friend” to Nick Adderley, a colleague charged with fraud and misconduct for allegedly lying about his military career.
Nick Adderley
JACOB KING/PA
Guildford supported Adderley at a gross misconduct hearing where he was removed from Northamptonshire police. Guildford was the chief constable responsible for national professional standards and ethics at the time and had vowed to “relentlessly double down on standards”.
He became embroiled in an employment dispute with an inspector, who went on to win a six-figure settlement from the force after making a claim of victimisation and disability discrimination, although West Midlands police admitted no formal liability.
Khizra Bano, a former inspector, complained that Guildford behaved in a bullying manner towards her in a meeting and referred her to professional standards after she called him a “massive arse”.
Khizra Bano
OLI LEES FOR THE TIMES
Another former colleague claimed Guildford was called “Nike” by the senior leadership team at the force, because he expected his commands to be obeyed without question and said “just do it” so often.
In November 2024, he secretly retired with a plan to be rehired a few weeks later to protect his pension. He was reappointed but the move attracted controversy because it was not publicly announced, but was exposed by The Times.
“It won him no favours internally,” a police source said. “Most of the rank and file weren’t allowed to do it, so it was seen as one rule for him and another for everyone else.”
Simon Foster, the area’s Labour police and crime commissioner, gave Guildford his backing. Foster, who has hiring and firing powers, faced calls to take action against Guildford after the Maccabi scandal. Instead, he announced a review of the evidence given to the home affairs select committee.
The pressure on Guildford is likely to continue with the pending publication of a review of the Maccabi policing decision.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Service has examined the West Midlands police advice to the “safety advisory group”, which included police, local politicians and council officials, and ultimately ruled there was a “high risk” because of unrest during previous Maccabi matches.
Sir Andy Cooke, HM chief inspector, is due to send his update to the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood. The Home Office said it would publish the report “at some point”.
Nick Timothy, a Tory MP who has highlighted many of the failings in the force’s handling of the football match, said it was essential that Mahmood published the update.
He said: “The secrecy in the Home Office must end. Everyone knows the position of the chief constable is untenable after this appalling scandal. The HMIC report must be published as soon as the home secretary receives it. If she refuses, the public will rightly ask what Shabana Mahmood is hiding.”
False rumours swept West Midlands police headquarters earlier this week that Guildford had resigned, when he had only left the office early because he was suffering with a winter bug. But many insiders believe it will be difficult for him to maintain his position if there are any more revelations.
While the calls by senior politicians and Jewish groups for his sacking have been most prominent, a lack of support closer to home will rankle. John Cotton, the leader of Birmingham city council, refused to say he had confidence in him at the home affairs committee, a local relationship that is normally considered essential for a police chief to remain in post.