Minister will not be drawn on police chief future over ban on Israeli football fans

In the aftermath of a ban on Israeli football fans watching their team, ministers have declined to comment on the future of West Midlands Police Chief Constable John Watson. This week, perhaps today, an independent study commissioned by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood into the decision is likely this week. According to West Midlands Police, the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from attending a match against Aston Villa in November was due to safety issues. Minister Alex Norris said ministers would wait for the report before making a decision on how to move forward concerning Craig Guildford's future.

According to a study in The Times, Mahmood was willing to lose trust in the chief constable if the study was critical. Last week, Guildford defended his credentials to the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, saying there had been no conspiracy and repeating the safety allegations. He denied there was any political influence on the decision and defended the force's intelligence from previous Maccabi Tel Aviv matches. Following his appearance, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch resigned, saying he had capitulated to Muslims. Norris said on Tuesday:We were angered by what happened, I've attended Villa Park as an away fan, and the suggestion that others would not be able to do so because of a decision that they couldn't protect them due to their faith, well, that can't be correct.

The independent inspectorate is investigating this. We're expecting a report from the home secretary, so we'll make our decision and our recommendation on how to proceed based on those facts.

We'll wait until we see those facts," the author says, but we'll be able to find the answers.

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

I'm not going to run ahead of what the study may or not say,

he said.

We need to know the whole truth in this situation,

Norris continued. Inspectorate, who are experts at this, is why the process is being carried out. "Let's see the report first, and then we'll know how we can go forward from there.

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