HOME Secretary Shabana Mahmood was accused yesterday of a “cynical, authoritarian intervention” after she announced she had lost confidence in the West Midlands police chief over his force’s ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans.

Protests are being arranged in Birmingham as Palestine and anti-racism campaigners slammed Westminster interference in local politics over the ban from a match against Aston Villa in November.

West Midlands Police and crime commissioner Simon Foster declined to sack chief constable Craig Guildford without “full and proper consideration” after Ms Mahmood told MPs that the government will reinstate the Home Secretary’s powers to fire chief constables.

She said a “damning” report by chief inspector of constabulary Sir Andy Cooke into the force’s intelligence gathering showed “confirmation bias” and “a failure of leadership.”

It revealed the force “conducted little engagement with the Jewish community and none with the Jewish community in Birmingham before a decision was taken,” she told the Commons.

“He shows that the police overstated the threat posed by the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, while understating the risk that was posed to the Israeli fans if they travelled to the area.

“Misleading communications also extend to the words of the chief constable himself at his appearance in front of the home affairs select committee, when he claimed that AI tools were not used to prepare intelligence reports, a claim since refuted by one of his own officers, who blames incorrect evidence on an ‘AI hallucination’.”

Ms Mahmood added that police acted “in an attempt to avoid long-term damage to local community relations. 

“If that is the case, what a grossly misguided effort it was.”

Independent MP Ayoub Khan — whose Birmingham Perry Barr constituency covers Aston Villa’s stadium Villa Park — replied “this is nothing but a witch hunt” and that the police chief had been “thrown under the bus.”

Your Party’s Zarah Sultana MP said Ms Mahmood’s “cynical and authoritarian” intervention “fits a clear pattern of this Labour government overriding local decisions whenever it suits them politically, which should worry anyone who cares about civil liberties. 

“Whatever procedural issues are now being argued over, the ban itself was plainly justified. There is extensive public evidence of racist violence by Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters, and banning away fans from high-risk fixtures is routine. Maccabi Tel Aviv shouldn’t have been playing here at all. 

“Apartheid South Africa was excluded from international sport for over 30 years — as part of a co-ordinated strategy of boycotts, divestment and sanctions that helped bring down a racist regime. Israel must receive the same treatment.”

Stop the War Coalition activists in Birmingham are “already involved in plans to demonstrate against these conclusions and Mahmood’s response,” the campaign group said.

“They describe a sense of indignation and betrayal of Westminster trying to interfere in local politics, and that, given West Midlands police spent considerable resources repairing their reputation with the Muslim community after the Project Champion ‘spy cameras’ scandal, this feels like a real blow to community trust,” added a spokeswoman.

Stand up to Racism co-convener Sabby Dhalu told the Star: “From the perspective of peace and public order the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from the Europa League match against Aston Villa at Villa Park was correct and proportionate.

“There is clear evidence of anti-Muslim violence by Maccabi fans in Amsterdam coinciding with the Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv match in 2024.” 

Not imposing the ban “would have been a provocation and direct threat to the safety of Birmingham’s 30 per cent Muslim population and Ms Mahmood’s “campaign against the ban is appeasing racism and Islamophobia. We urge Labour MPs to fight this right wing trajectory,” she said.

Jewish Voice for Liberation co-chair Jenny Manson added: “It’s pity that the chief constable and his staff used AI to do the research on this but I feel they came to the right conclusion.

“We know that the full scale of how abusive they were in Amsterdam was not properly monitored by police. Their reputation for violence and racist behaviour goes back some years and are also feared in Israel itself. This isn’t out of the blue.

“The police have a responsibility to preserve public order, there would have been alarm in Birmingham for them coming.”

The review found eight “inaccuracies” in a report from the force to Birmingham’s safety advisory group — representatives from the council, police and other authorities — but “no evidence” of anti-semitism.

Mr Guildford insisted the decision was not politically influenced as he apologised to MPs yesterday for giving them an error in evidence to the home affairs committee.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign deputy director Peter Leary told the Star: “The reason for the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans is obvious — they have a long and well-documented history of racism and violence.

“Pro-Israel politicians ignore and whitewash this racist violence because it is a product of Israel’s racist apartheid rule over Palestinians — which they support and enable. The Home Secretary is now attempting to rewrite history. Birmingham residents who were justifiably concerned about their safety are being demonised in order to smear those who have rightly called for Israel to be expelled from international sports in response to its genocide in Gaza and other violations of international law.”