Minister will not be drawn on police chief future

Ministers have refused to be drawn on the future of West Midlands Police's chief constable, in the wake of a ban on Israeli football fans watching their team.

An independent report commissioned by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood into the decision is expected this week, possibly today.

The decision to bar Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending a match against Aston Villa in November was due to safety concerns, according to West Midlands Police.

Home Office minister Alex Norris said ministers would wait for the report before making a judgment on "how to go forward" regarding Craig Guildford's future.

A report in The Times said that if that report was critical, Mahmood was open to withdrawing confidence in the chief constable.

Guildford defended his force to the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee last week, saying there had been "no conspiracy" and repeating the safety claims.

He denied there had been political influence on the decision, and defended the force's intelligence from previous Maccabi Tel Aviv matches.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called for his resignation after the appearance, saying he had "capitulated to Islamists".

On Tuesday, Norris told BBC Breakfast: "We were angered by what happened, I've attended Villa Park as an away fan, and the idea that others wouldn't be able to do so because a judgement was made that we couldn't protect them because of their faith, well of course, that cannot be right.

"This is being looked at by the independent inspectorate. We're expecting a report to the home secretary, we'll make our judgement and our basis on how to go forward based on those facts.

"We'll wait until we see those facts but as I say, what we think happened wasn't right, that's why we've commissioned the work that we have."

Norris refused to confirm whether he would publicly state he had no confidence in Guildford if, hypothetically, the report was critical of the chief constable.

He said: "I'm not going to run ahead of what the report may or may not say."

Norris then added: "In this case, we need to know the full facts. That's why the inspectorate, they're very good at this, are doing that process.

"Let's see that report and then we'll have the chance to know how we can move forward from there."

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