Cabinet ministers demand resignation of West Midlands police chief after Israeli fan ban scandal
Man with power to sack police chief was a long-time supporter of Jeremy Corbyn and former Momentum chair
Senior cabinet ministers have lined up to call for Chief Constable of West Midlands Police Craig Guildford to resign after an interim report highlighted multiple mistakes in the decision to ban Israeli soccer fans from a match against Aston Villa.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting told Times Radio: “Bluntly, I am absolutely shocked that he is still in post.
“I genuinely thought that, having misled Parliament, having misled the public, and having had one of his own local MPs, the Home Secretary, say she had lost confidence in him, I honestly thought that anyone with integrity would at that point say ‘I have to resign’.
“The fact he hasn’t, I really think, is a stain on his character that, if he doesn’t act quickly, he won’t be able to remove.
“I hope he does the right thing. I will be horrified if he is still in post at the end of the day.”
While Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told MPs in the Commons that she is “astonished” that Guildford is still in post after a highly critical preliminary review.
Nandy said: “Having watched West Midlands Police contradict me, contradict this Government and contradict their own evidence in public over recent months, and seeing all of that laid bare in a report that the Home Secretary brought to this House yesterday, I do want to say to him that I believe it is astonishing that the chief constable remains in post and I hope he will seriously reflect.”
She added that the events have had a “chilling effect” on the Jewish community and “on everybody who needs to have trust in our police services across this country”.
The man with the power to dismiss Guildford, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster, has said he would question Guildford publicly in two weeks, and will follow “due process.”
Foster was elected as PCC for the region in May 2021, following a grassroots campaign.
He was previously chairman of the South Birmingham Momentum Group, which supported his campaign to be elected West Midlands PCC.
Numerous posts on the group’s Facebook page include attacks on the state of Israel.
He sparked controversy when it emerged he had spoken at an online event hosted by the Islamist advocacy group Muslim Engagement and Development (MEND) during the campaign in 2018.
Foster denied he held any views attributed to some involved with the organisation.
During the 2019 general election, he also regularly posted #JC4PM as he openly backed Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign.
After Corbyn stepped down to be replaced by Keir Starmer, Foster wrote: “Thank you, Jeremy Corbyn, for all you have done for our party. Courage, fortitude, principle, and resilience. Let us all continue to campaign together for economic and social justice.”
In 2021, Foster spoke at a campaign event for Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana, who at the time was still a member of the Labour Party.
The pair were said to be political allies at the time, ahead of Sultana’s decision to co-found Your Party.
Foster, a former lawyer of 35 years, was among those to the chief constable role 2022 after a recruitment process overseen by a panel that included the then leader of Green Lane mosque.
Pic: House of Commons/PA Wire
After Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she had no confidence in Guildford following the publication of a report into the force’s handling of evidence ahead of the football game last November, Foster issued a statement.
He emphasised his desire to wait for the Home Affairs Select Committee report before deciding on Guildford’s future, adding that he will discuss the matter with the chief constable at their monthly meeting on January 26.
“It is vital that all involved act in accordance with due process and the law at all times,” he said.
Mahmood told MPs she would restore ministerial power to dismiss heads of police forces after it was removed under reforms introduced by the Tory government in 2011.
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