West Midlands Police 'in serious trouble' following decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans, ex-Attorney General warns

Chief Constable Craig Guildford was called to the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee today to answer further questions, along with Birmingham City Council leaders.

The decision to ban fans of the Israeli club from their Uefa Europa League fixture against Aston Villa on November 6 has faced criticism, including from the Prime Minister.

Sir Keir Starmer previously said the decision had “anti-Semitic overtones”, while Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described it as a “national disgrace”, prompting widespread criticism.

In an unprecedented move, the chief constable has been recalled to appear before MPs, the first such recall in around 25 years after claims that evidence given to Parliament last month may have been misleading.

Speaking on GB News, former Attorney General Sir Michael Ellis said: "There are really serious allegations of misleading Parliament.

"For one thing, it was said there was intelligence, the sort of intelligence that police rely on to make decisions about banning things. There are allegations in the newspapers that this intelligence was made up only after the fact.

"It was also said there were reasons why the Tel Aviv Maccabi fans were banned coming from the Dutch authorities, following a disturbance in November 2020 at a football match there.

"It turns out the Dutch authorities are saying, ‘No, that’s not what we said at all,’ and they have backed that up with a further letter today.

"Nick Timothy MP has been doing excellent work on this, as have the Times and Sunday Times as well as the Telegraph. They’ve been doing excellent work because it’s quite complicated.

"But the long and the short of it is this, that’s why we’re seeing the chief constable back in front of Parliament now in an unprecedented recall. These are really serious allegations, and Parliament wants to get to the bottom of it.”

Tom Harwood said: “Ultimately, boiling this down to what the police were trying to achieve peace on the streets, I wonder if they were punishing the wrong half. If you see what I mean.

"The idea that perhaps some of the local Islamic community would be very upset if Tel Aviv fans were there.

"Well then, why is it the Tel Aviv fans who are told to stay away, as opposed to the ones that might kick off?”

Mr Ellis replied: “Tom, you’ve hit the nail on the head. In fact, just in the last hour or two, the UK Football Policing Unit, in a report published in the Times newspaper, where police previously told Parliament they had a clean bill of health from that unit.

"The Times is now reporting it was locals who wanted to arm themselves, and there were allegations of threats of violence against the visiting Tel Aviv fans.

"There is a whole series of really serious allegations here.

"The whole point of being in front of Parliament and answering these questions is to get to the truth and establish what actually happened.

"But we are in an unprecedented situation and it is extremely serious for West Midlands Police. They are in serious trouble.”