How can British Jews trust a police force that refuses to stand up to intimidation from extremists?

Confirmation that the force used Microsoft Copilot to provide inaccurate evidence to Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group is nothing short of extraordinary. It was a grossly inappropriate use of unreliable technology. Anyone familiar with AI could clearly recognise that the fictional West Ham fixture was a hallucination, yet Chief Constable Craig Guildford continued to deny it.

This only reinforces the overwhelming evidence that West Midlands Police relied on inaccurate, exaggerated or improperly sourced “intelligence” in order to justify banning Israeli fans in a manner that appeared to yield to pressure from local Islamist extremists. They have repeatedly misled the public and Parliament in an attempt to conceal the true and damning reasons behind their decision.

At the Home Affairs Select Committee last week, it was finally revealed that the Police feared armed vigilante groups within Birmingham were planning violent action against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and players. But instead of making that threat clear, the force attempted to justify the ban by portraying the Israeli fans as “uniquely violent” and military trained. They used “intelligence” supposedly received from Dutch authorities that has been completely discredited by the Dutch police and the Mayor of Amsterdam. And when asked why the vital information about the danger to Israeli fans was kept secret, the Chief Constable outrageously said it was because he had not been asked for it.

This is policing turned upside down. The decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans came first. Then came the scramble to find or assemble post-hoc evidence to justify it. The Police excluded any assessment of the significant risk to the Jewish community and failed to engage or consult with local Jewish leaders in advance of the decision, despite claims to the contrary.

Allegations about the behaviour of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were unsubstantiated or erroneous. Meanwhile, those who openly inflamed tensions were effectively rewarded. Islamist agitators demanded that Israelis be kept out of Birmingham, and the outcome of the policing decisions met those demands. Whether they intended it or not, the effect of these decisions was to provide the outcome sought by extremists.

The double standard was laid bare at Aston Villa’s next Europa League fixture just three weeks after they hosted Maccabi Tel Aviv with no away fans present. BSC Young Boys fans, who have an extensive record of hooliganism, were welcomed to Villa Park, and attacked both the police and Villa players from the stands.

It has now become difficult to avoid the conclusion that West Midlands Police capitulated to those who object not to the conduct of some Israeli fans but reject the very presence of an Israeli team in Birmingham at all.

Given Chief Constable Craig Guildford’s role in these events, a change of leadership is both essential and inevitable, and the Home Secretary’s intervention is incredibly welcome. But his departure alone will not solve the problem. Because the most troubling question remains unanswered: what does it say about the state of community cohesion in Britain’s second city that extremists can dictate to its police force?

West Midlands Police may soon have new leadership, but the damage to the confidence of the Jewish community in the Police will not be undone overnight. Until police forces across the country show they are willing to stand up to intimidation rather than give in for the sake of convenience, British Jews will continue to question whether the police can be trusted to protect them.

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Russell Langer is the Director of Public Affairs at the Jewish Leadership Council.

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