The shadow Home Secretary claimed today that there is a ‘more systemic problem’ in the police and other organisations in standing up to Muslim extremism following the furore over banning Israeli football fans from Birmingham.
In direct echoes of sacked Robert Jenrick‘s comments on Muslim extremism just a week ago, Chris Philp said there were ‘deeper and systemic problems’ within ‘organs of state including the police’ when it came to standing up to extremists in Muslim communities.
Mr Philp, Conservative MP for Croydon South, criticised West Midlands Police for ‘failing to stand up to extremist Muslims’ and ‘capitulating’ to them instead of ‘investigating their threats of violence’ because they wanted to ‘appease’ them.
He also accused them of ‘fabricating and making up evidence’ to justify their decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from supporting their team at Aston Villa in the Europa Cup last November and called on the police watchdog to investigate them.
West Midlands Chief Constable Craig Guildford stepped down with immediate effect yesterday following mounting pressure for him to quit.
Citing the Maccabi scandal, as well as intimidation and harassment of MPs, including the ‘severe intimidation’ former Labour MP Kate Hollern suffered at the hands of pro Gaza extremists, Mr Philp said: ‘We saw Kate Hollern, the former MP in Blackburn, who was defeated by one of the pro Gaza candidates who now sits in Parliament, describe how as the sitting Labour MP seeking re-election she was severely harassed and intimidated by supporters of the pro Gaza candidate who went on to win to the extent she couldn’t have family and friends at her house.
‘It does suggest there is a more systemic problem and we need the organs of the state including the police and others as well to stand up to intimidation where it happens and this example in the West Midlands shows that instead of standing up to that kind of intimidation the police capitulated to it.’
Ms Hollern revealed only days ago that during the election campaign in 2024 she was told she was ‘going to be beheaded’ and accused of ‘worshipping a false God’ and she suffered so much intimidation including visits to her house by taxis which would ‘sit outside with flashing nights in the middle of the night’ that she was ‘frightened to go to some places in her own constituency’.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp claimed there is a ‘systemic problem’ in the police in standing up to Muslim extremism following the ban on Israeli football fans from Birmingham
Philp criticised West Midlands Police for ‘failing to stand up to extremist Muslims’ and ‘capitulating’ to them. Pictured: Pro-Palestinian groups demonstrate outside Villa Park during the Maccabi Tel Aviv clash with Aston Villa in November
Last weekend former Shadow Justice Secretary Mr Jenrick warned the police and government could lose control of not just the streets, but the entire country if they didn’t tackle Islamic extremism.
Mr Jenrick, who joined Reform UK after he was sacked this week for allegedly plotting against his own party, said police were giving in to the Islamists because it was ‘too challenging to confront them’.
Speaking to the BBC today, his former shadow cabinet colleague slammed all of those involved in the Maccabi ban, calling the whole episode ‘so appalling’.
‘The West Midlands police force had intelligence that extreme elements within Birmingham’s Muslim community planned to attack the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans,’ he told Radio 4’s Today programme.
‘What they should have done is made sure those fans were going to be protected and safe while they looked at the plans to attack them and potentially arrested those responsible, but instead of going after the extreme elements in Birmingham’s Muslim community that might have perpetrated the attacks they they decided to take the path of least resistance and banned the fans.
‘They then fabricated and made up evidence saying it was the Maccabi fans themselves to blame.’
Mr Philp called on the IOPC – the Independent Office for Police Complaints – to conduct their own investigation and look at Mr Guildford, despite his retirement, as well as his Assistant Chief Constable Mike O’Hara and other senior officers who he said were guilty of ‘more than incompetence’.
‘It’s not good enough to just say the chief constable has retired. We need to look at this in more detail and the IOPC need to look into what happened, not just at his conduct but the conduct of other officers. There needs to be personal accountability.
Robert Jenrick said previously that police were giving in to the Islamists because it was ‘too challenging to confront them’. Pictured: The former Conservative MP has defected to Reform
‘They chose to capitulate in the face of threats by extreme elements within the Muslim community in Birmingham. You should not be capitulating in the face of threats of violence by anyone whether it is extreme elements of anyone else.
‘The police should be protecting innocent members of the public like the Maccabi fans not appeasing those who are planning to attack them.’
The watchdog has pledged it will continue to look into the decision to ban the fans from travelling to Villa Park.
IOPC director general Rachel Watson said: ‘Our interest in the actions of former chief constable Guildford, and other officers involved, does not end following his decision to step down.
‘We will continue examining all available evidence to inform our assessment of whether we should undertake any independent conduct investigations.
‘If that is the case, we’ve said we are prepared to use our powers of initiative to independently investigate in the absence of formal referrals.’
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she had lost confidence in Mr Guildford after a ‘damning’ watchdog review showed ‘confirmation bias’ and a ‘failure of leadership’ in West Midlands Police on Wednesday.
Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were barred from travelling to the game on November 6 by the local safety advisory group (SAG), which cited safety concerns based on advice from the police force.
West Midlands Police Chief Craig Guildford stepped down on Friday over the debacle
The review by chief inspector of constabulary Sir Andy Cooke, ordered by the Home Secretary, found eight ‘inaccuracies’ in a report from the force to Birmingham’s SAG, including a reference to a non-existent game between Tel Aviv and West Ham, found to be an ‘AI hallucination’ produced by Microsoft Copilot.
The Home Secretary described the report as ‘devastating’ and said it set out failures that let down ‘our entire Jewish community’ and called his retirement ‘the right thing’.
However, the 52-year-old is still expected to receive his full pension, a decision announced by West Midlands police and crime commissioner (PCC) Simon Foster, who had the power to sack him but did not.
In a statement Mr Guildford 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.’
Sir Andy’s review said there is ‘no evidence’ antisemitism played a part in the force’s decision to ban the Israeli team’s fans, but added there was an ‘imbalance’ in the information the force used to inform its decision.
Other inaccuracies set out in the preliminary report by the policing watchdog included overstating the number of Dutch police officers deployed during a previous Maccabi Tel Aviv game in Amsterdam, claims fans were linked to the Israeli Defence Forces, claims Muslim communities had been intentionally targeted by Tel Aviv fans and reports of multiple Dutch police officers being injured in the disorder.
Ahead of the review’s publication, Mr Guildford apologised for giving incorrect evidence to the Home Affairs Committee, where he appeared twice over the controversy, and said it was ‘never his intention’ to mislead MPs.
Last weekend, Mr Jenrick forecast that the UK is facing ‘the fight of our generation’ to defeat Islamic extremists.
The former Cabinet minister, who was responsible for immigration during the last Conservative government, said the ‘reality’ was that ‘the police can no longer sustain their authority in parts of Britain and have to lie to preserve the illusion’.
‘The fight against Islamism is the fight of our generation. It’s a battle for the soul of the country. It begins by telling the truth,’ he said.
Mr Jenrick said: ‘The West Midlands Police scandal matters. It’s about more than a football match. It’s about who controls our streets – the police or the Islamists? Who governs our country – the Islamists or the rest of the British people?’