Home secretary says he has no confidence in police chief after Israeli football fan ban

The location caput has said she nary longer has assurance successful the main constable of West Midlands Police aft a "damning" study into the force's determination to prohibition Israeli shot fans from attending a crippled successful the UK.

Shabana Mahmood told MPs a reappraisal by a constabulary watchdog into the unit showed "confirmation bias" implicit the determination to prohibition Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from attending the lucifer astatine Villa Park successful November.

Ms Mahmood besides expressed vexation that she was not capable to sack main constable Craig Guildford herself.

The location caput does not person the powerfulness to prosecute oregon occurrence main constables, arsenic this is present held by constabulary and transgression commissioners - a relation being scrapped by the government.

Ms Mahmood said caller statutory powers allowing a location caput to unit the resignation of main constables connected the grounds of their show are planned.

Earlier connected Wednesday, Mr Guildford apologised to MPs for giving them "erroneous" grounds astir the determination to prohibition Maccabi fans, blaming the usage of AI.

The constabulary unit announced successful October that supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv would not beryllium capable to be the club's lucifer against Aston Villa successful Birmingham the pursuing month, owed to information concerns.

That determination led to an outcry, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer expressing concern, and elder members of West Midlands Police made to look doubly earlier MPs to reply questions astir the ban.

The House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee heard grounds from Chief Constable Guildford, arsenic good arsenic others, which led to the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council jointly calling for him to go.

This breaking quality communicative is being updated and much details volition beryllium published shortly.

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