Minister 'horrified' police chief still in job
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said he will be "horrified" if the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, Craig Guildford, is still in his job by the end of today. Mr Streeting told Times Radio that the officer’s refusal to step down was a "stain on his character" after he gave incorrect information to Parliament.
The row follows an apology from Mr Guildford for misleading the Home Affairs Select Committee. He originally suggested that AI had not been used in a report that led to the banning of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from an Aston Villa match. However, he later had to admit in an email that a non-existent football match mentioned in the report—between Maccabi Tel Aviv and West Ham—was actually the result of using an AI bot.
While the Chief Constable claims he had no intention to deceive and simply made a "blunder," the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has already expressed a lack of confidence in his leadership. A recent report by the policing watchdog also criticised the force's intelligence gathering as "damning."
Mr Guildford is due to be interviewed by the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster, on 27 January. Mr Foster is the only person with the legal power to sack him. In the meantime, the force has apologised for the mistakes and promised to work hard to win back the public's trust.
