Police chief retires after blaming AI for scandal over Israeli soccer fan ban
The Home Secretary said Craig Guildford has ‘done the right thing’ after an investigation unearthed a ‘catalogue of failings’ that ‘harmed trust’ in the force
Craig Guildford(Image: PA)
West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford announced his ‘immediate’ retirement after his force used ‘exaggerated and untrue’ intelligence to justify a ban on Israeli football fans.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the police chief had ‘done the right thing’ after an investigation unearthed a ‘catalogue of failings that have harmed trust’ in the force.
She had told the Commons she had ‘no confidence’ in Mr Guildford following the decision last October to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending their Europa League fixture at Aston Villa. His force advised the Safety Advisory Group to bar supporters of the Israeli club from Villa Park highlighting their involvement in previous violence.
But a review by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services found eight ‘inaccuracies’ in the force’s report to the safety group. Among them was a reference to a non-existent match between Tel Aviv and West Ham found to be an ‘AI hallucination’ produced by Microsoft Copilot.
Other errors included claims fans were linked to the Israeli Defence Forces and had intentionally targeted Muslim communities.
Though the police watchdog said there was ‘no evidence’ antisemitism played a part in the force’s decision there was an ‘imbalance’ in the information it had used to make it.
Testifying twice to the home affairs committee Mr Guildford, who earned more than £220,000-a-year, admitted his force’s dossier referenced a match that never happened and information was gathered erroneously using artificial intelligence.
Despite the gaffes West Midland police and crime commissioner Simon Foster declined to sack the chief from running the nation’s second biggest force. But Mr Foster announced Mr Guildford had decided to retire acting ‘with honour and in the best interests of West Midlands Police and our region’.
“It was important this matter was resolved in a balanced, calm, fair, measured and respectful manner,” the commissioner added.
“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.”
The 52-year-old chief, who started out as a PC in 1994 and had headed the West Midlands force since 2002, will be entitled to his full pension. West Midlands deputy chief constable Scott Green will take over the job temporarily.
Mr Foster said the pair had met to ‘discuss the actions that the force must take to re-build trust and confidence amongst all the people and communities of the West Midlands’.
Following Mr Guildford’s retirement the Home Secretary said: “The findings of the Chief Inspector were damning. They set out a catalogue of failings that have harmed trust in West Midlands Police.
“By stepping down Craig Guildford has done the right thing today. 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.”
The Board of Deputies of British Jews welcomed the police chief’s resignation and said it is ready to work with his successor ‘to restore confidence’.
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