West Midlands Police chief Craig Guildford retires with full pension after misleading MPs over AI-driven fan ban
West Midlands Police Chief Craig Guildford has been permitted to retire with a full pension after facing increasing pressure to resign over the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans ban scandal.
It comes after Mr Guildford this week admitted to misleading MPs after his force used Artificial Intelligence (AI) that "invented" a fictitious match that never actually took place.
An official inquiry found this was used to justify banning Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending the match against Aston Villa.
The announcement means he is entitled to a full pension after 32 years of service, instead of being sacked as many had called for.
Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster confirmed on Friday Mr Guildford is to retire as chief constable with immediate effect in the “best interest” of West Midlands Police.
He said at a press conference on Friday: "I am pleased this outcome has been reached having regard to due process and the law.
"That has prevented what might otherwise have been a complex procedure, that would have caused significant distraction, impact and cost to West Midlands Police and the wider West Midlands."
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has said Mr Guildford has “done the right thing” by “stepping down”.
Pressure mounted on the police chief to quit following the blunder while calls grew to sack him.
The under-fire police chief remained in his job for days after Mr Foster declined to fire him.
Mr Guildford wanted to leave the decision until at least 27 January, according to the Guardian, when Mr Foster had called a meeting to publicly question the chief constable.
The pressure was seemingly too much for Mr Guildford as he faced intense backlash over the error.
Mr Foster told reporters: "It was important this matter was resolved in a balanced, calm, fair, measured and respectful manner.
"The Chief Constable’s retirement follows the decision of the Birmingham City Council Safety Advisory Group, based on the recommendation of West Midlands Police, to ban away fans from attending the Europa League football match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv on 6 November 2025.
"West Midlands Police have been subjected to, understandable intense and significant oversight and scrutiny as a consequence of events that led to the recommendation it made to the Safety Advisory Group.
"That has included the letter from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary that was published as recently as Wednesday 14 January, that set out significant preliminary concerns and shortcomings in relation to preparation and planning by West Midlands Police."
The police and crime commissioner took no questions after making his statement.
Mr Guildford has said the “political and media frenzy” around his position had become “detrimental” to the force.
In a statement released on the West Midlands Police website, he said: “I have come to the conclusion that the political and media frenzy around myself and my position has become detrimental to all the great work undertaken by my officers and staff in serving communities across the West Midlands.
“I have carefully considered my position and concluded that retirement is in the best interests of the organisation, myself and my family.“It has been the honour of my career serving as the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police.“With the force’s dedicated and hard-working workforce, together we have turned this force around. I therefore want to take this opportunity to recognise the outstanding level of service that this force provides to the public.
“I know this will continue, thanks to all of the officers, staff and volunteers who work for WMP who all strive to keep the public safe.“I would also like to thank all of the communities of the West Midlands for your support. I will greatly miss the incredible people I have had the privilege to meet, work with and serve across the region.”
The announcement has sparked backlash given Mr Guildford has avoided being sacked and could instead recieve a full pension.
Cllr Robert Alden, the leader of the Birmingham Conservatives, slammed the police and crime commissioner as “weak”.
He said: “Yet again, the Labour police and crime commissioner has shown how weak he is.
“If the Chief Constable was responsible for the disgraceful banning of Jewish fans and the cover-up of intelligence relating to armed gangs in our city intent on hunting down and hurting people, then he should have been fired.
“If he was not, then those responsible should have been, and the Chief Constable should have been tasked with the catching of the very armed gangs the police had been warned about."
He added that the city of Birmingham "deserves better".
"In the end, the Labour Party has once again been more interested in trying to protect their brand than keeping the city safe."
The Campaign Against Antisemitism has also reacted in fury at the outcome.
Gideon Falter, its Chief Executive, said: "Under Craig Guildford’s leadership, West Midlands Police lied and obfuscated, victim-blaming Jews instead of taking on the Islamists.
"His retirement, after the pitiful failure of West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster to sack him, should result in the resignation of Mr Foster as well. In any case, Mr Guildford’s must not be the last departure from among the force’s leadership, and obviously he cannot be replaced by another senior figure implicated in the same scandal."
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has welcomed the news, saying Mr Guildford has "done the right thing" by stepping down.
She added: "I would like to acknowledge his years of service. And I pay tribute to the work of the officers in West Midlands Police, who keep their community safe every day.
"Today marks a crucial first step to rebuilding trust and confidence in the force amongst all the communities they serve."
Speaking to LBC, Schools standards minister Georgia Gould also wlecomed the news.
She told Tom Swarbrick at Drive: “The home secretary has been absolutely clear that he should have resigned and has said if she had the power to be able to remove him, that’s what she would have done. It’s obviously good that he’s gone. I think we had lost confidence in him.
"He misled parliament. But this is exactly why the home secretary is bringing back that accountability back into government for the future.”
Ms Mahmood said earlier this week a report into the Mr Guildford’s Maccabi Tel Aviv fan ban by chief inspector of constabulary Sir Andy Cooke had been “damning”.
She said: “The force, we now discover, conducted little engagement with the Jewish community and none with the Jewish community in Birmingham before a decision was taken.”
She said Sir Andy’s report characterised the police’s approach as “confirmation bias” and “rather than follow the evidence, the force sought only the evidence to support their desired position to ban the fans”.
“He shows that the police overstated the threat posed by the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, while understating the risk that was posed to the Israeli fans if they travelled to the area.
“Misleading communications also extend to the words of the Chief Constable himself at his appearance in front of the Home Affairs Select Committee, when he claimed that AI tools were not used to prepare intelligence reports, a claim since refuted by one of his own officers, who blames incorrect evidence on an ‘AI hallucination’.
“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 schools.”
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
