New powers for ministers to sack failing police chiefs after Maccabi Tel Aviv ban fiasco
Former chief of West Midlands Police Craig Guildford refused to resign after admitting to misleading Parliament
Ministers will be given powers to sack failing police chiefs after a row over a decision to ban Israeli football fans from a match in Birmingham.
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Former West Midlands Police chief Craig Guildford admitted earlier this month that the evidence presented to Parliament to justify banning Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending their match with Aston Villa was false and provided by Microsoft Copilot AI.
After the revelation, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she had "no confidence" in Guildford but could not directly sack him for misleading MPs.
Mr Guildford was able to retire and retain his full pension after the local Police and Crime Commissioner refused to remove him from his role.
The new laws will allow the Home Secretary to sanction the retirement, resignation, or suspension of the most senior officer in any force if they are "poorly performing".
New targets on 999 response times and victim satisfaction will also be introduced, with forces graded and results published online as part of a bid to increase public accountability under the plans.
Read More: Retired West Midlands Police chief mocked by former force over AI blunder
Ministerial powers to sack police chiefs were removed in 2011, ahead of the introduction of directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners.
The powers will now return to ministers ahead of the scrapping of the Commissioners by the Labour government.
Before Mr Guildford announced he was leaving the force, opposition critics had demanded Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood take action under the Police Act 1996.
Mr Guildford said he had not intended to "mislead" the Home Affairs Committee, but he retired days later, blaming a "political and media frenzy" for his decision to step down.
A preliminary review by the policing watchdog into the force's intelligence gathering also found "confirmation bias" influenced the move.
Under new Government proposals, police forces will be made accountable to the Home Secretary, who will have the authority to order so-called "crack squads" to turn around poor performance, the Home Office said.
Officers from the best-performing forces will be sent in to drive up standards where crime-solving rates and police response times are found lacking, the department said.
His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary will also be given statutory powers to hand out directions when forces fail to act on recommendations, the Home Office said.
The changes form part of a white paper, 'From Local to National: A New Model For Policing', in which Ms Mahmood is expected to outline sweeping police reforms on Monday.
Announcing the changes on Friday, Ms Mahmood said: "The police are the public, and the public are the police.
"It is essential that the people can determine what they expect from their forces.
"I will make police forces accountable to both Parliament and the public - driving up standards so they fight more crime in their communities."