The questions West Midlands Police must answer

The justification for banning Israeli, Jewish supporters has been blown apart. Without full transparency and a credible explanation, heads must roll

This is serious indeed. An English police force is accused of fabricating intelligence, delegating its decision-making to the mob, and lying to the public about doing so. Today its chief constable will appear before the Home Affairs Select Committee in Parliament.

The story, by now, is well known. When Aston Villa drew Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League, a campaign to stop the match going ahead. The local MP – a so-called Gaza Independent called Ayoub Khan – launched a petition demanding its cancellation. As he explained, Aston is a “predominantly Muslim” community, and the presence of Israelis was unacceptable to him.

The match did go ahead, but not before Birmingham City Council’s Safety Advisory Group – informed by “intelligence” from West Midlands Police – banned all Israeli fans from attending. The justification was, as officers put it in local community meetings, that the Israeli supporters were uniquely violent. That claim rested upon information about the violence that marred last year’s match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv, supposedly provided to West Midlands Police by their Dutch counterparts.

But what West Midlands Police claims about events in Amsterdam last year has been contradicted by the Dutch authorities. West Midlands Police said 5,000 officers were needed to quell the violence in Amsterdam, that 500-600 Israeli fans “intentionally targeted Muslim communities”, and that they threw “innocent members of the public into the river.” They claimed the Israeli fans were “linked” to the Israel Defence Forces, and called them “highly organised, skilled fighters with a serious desire and will to fight.” I have obtained a copy of the police intelligence document, and you can read it here.

The Dutch police told the Sunday Times that the intelligence is obviously inaccurate and “not true”. They told Sky News, “we did not see large groups of Maccabi’s going into Muslim populated areas to target Muslims.” The mayor of Amsterdam told the Jewish Chronicle she “doesn’t recognise” what West Midlands Police claims. And the Dutch Justice and Security Inspectorate – which took evidence from the Amsterdam police – produced a report that contradicts what West Midlands Police says.

There are only two plausible explanations for what West Midlands Police has done. That the force genuinely feared public disorder, but wanted to blame Israelis and Jews – not the Islamist agitators and local thugs who hate Israel and Jews. This seems likely, since the police had to deploy more than 700 officers on the night of the match, even when no Israeli fans were present.

The second explanation is that the police felt political and social pressure from those who want to ban and boycott everything and everybody from Israel. That was the original demand of Ayoub Khan, and of at least two councillors on the Safety Advisory Group.

The truth is almost certainly that both explanations are correct. Why else would fans from Israel be banned from Villa Park, when in recent years fans with a worse track record of hooliganism – Legia Warsaw, Bologna and Young Boys of Bern – have all been allowed to come? In the match against Young Boys played on Thursday, Swiss fans ripped out seats, fought with police officers and threw missiles at Villa players. Despite the history of Young Boys fans, West Midlands Police admitted to Sky News that this game had been assessed only as “medium risk”.

But perhaps the assessment is different for Jews.

West Midlands Police has refused to publish the information it says it holds that justifies its actions, and refused to answer elementary questions from the media. At first, the Chief Constable, Craig Guildford, refused to attend the Home Affairs Select Committee session due this afternoon, but opted to come as the pressure built.

I am not a member of the committee, but these are the questions that need to be put to the Chief Constable.

On transparency, will you:

Publish all correspondence, minutes and documents held by West Midlands Police regarding policing matches involving teams from Israel from 7 November 2024 – the date of the Ajax v Maccabi Tel Aviv match?

Publish all intelligence material and its analysis that led to the decision to ban the Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters?

Provide the intelligence reports and any documents detailing recommendations made for the public order operation at Villa Park after the decision to ban Israeli supporters?

Publish the lists of all individuals and organisations consulted by West Midlands Police and all those who submitted evidence?

Confirm that no organisations linked to the Muslim Brotherhood or subject to Government non-engagement participated?

Confirm that the Hind Rajab Foundation submitted a paper and that this was accepted by West Midlands Police?

On the intelligence:

Can you confirm that your officers did not read the report by the Dutch Justice and Security Inspectorate as they produced their intelligence report?

Given official and on-the-record comments from Dutch police about the claims made by West Midlands Police, do you contend that the Dutch police are incorrect? With which of their statements do you disagree?

West Midlands Police says it based its intelligence report on the advice of the Dutch police following the match held in Ajax last year. Which of the other 103 away matches played by Maccabi Tel Aviv in Europe did West Midlands Police analyse?

What information did your force receive from police forces in those countries, and the relevant police forces in this country?

What intelligence did West Midlands Police seek about the Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from football, policing and security bodies in Israel?

What did intelligence did it seek from Europol? Or from UEFA?

Why do you believe such an extensive policing operation was needed – 700 officers deployed at a cost of more than £2 million – given the absence of Israeli supporters and the generally good conduct of Aston Villa supporters? Which groups presented the risk to public order that made such an operation necessary?

In the Operation Parkmill intelligence report, West Midlands Police refer to “high confidence CT related information.” CT normally stands for “counter-terrorism”. What does this sentence mean? Was there a terror threat against the Israeli team or supporters?

What contact did West Midlands Police have with the Metropolitan Police, MI5, Home Office, Cabinet Office or the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre about this information?

Was the threat level for the match reassessed?

On the National Police Chiefs Council:

What is your personal and professional relationship with Chief Constable Mark Roberts, who is the lead for Football Policing at the National Police Chiefs Council?

What intelligence was shared by West Midlands Police with the UK Football Policing Unit and the National Police Chiefs Council?

Will you ensure the full publication of the peer review conducted by the UK Football Policing Unit and the National Police Chiefs Council?

On the Government:

Why do you believe the Prime Minister said the decision to ban the Israeli supporters was wrong, and suggested it was caused by “antisemitism on our streets”?

What information was given by you or your officers or staff to officials and ministers in (a) the Home Office, (b) DCMS, and (c) Number Ten, and when?

We know officials were told about the options under consideration on 2 October, two weeks before the ban was announced, so what contact did you or your officers have with officials and ministers in the intervening period?

Did you or your officers send notice of the decision to recommend a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters to the Home Office before it went to the Safety Advisory Group?

If so, on what date was it sent to the Home Office? And why was it sent to the Home Office before the Safety Advisory Group?

Did the Home Office ratify or give any view about the decision to recommend a ban before the Safety Advisory Group took its position?

The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner says, “it is my understanding that the potential issues and options, including restrictions on visiting fans, referred to in the UKFPU statement, had been shared with the Home Secretary directly and no concerns were raised at the time.” What do you know about what and when different government ministers were told about the options, including a ban, and what they did in response?

Why do you believe the Government did not offer before the Safety Advisory Group decision was made public to “find the resources” to police the match with Israeli fans attending?

On local accountability:

Why was the Police and Crime Commissioner not consulted by West Midlands Police about the advice it provided to the Safety Advisory Group?

Please explain your understanding of the role of Police and Crime Commissioner, the question of operational independence, and what role, if any, you believe the Police and Crime Commissioner should have in the anticipation of and preparation for sensitive public order operations.

On the conduct of your force:

Do you believe you retain the confidence of the Jewish population in the West Midlands? And of the population as a whole?

Why did West Midlands Police refuse to engage with the questions put to it by the Sunday Times?

Why has your force refused to give detailed comments on the veracity of its claims before the meeting of the home affairs select committee? It is not “inappropriate” to do so, as West Midlands Police claims.

Will you ensure that the force now answers all questions put to it by MPs and the media fully?