Police Chief Apologises After AI Error Was Used To Ban Maccabi Tel Aviv Fans From Match
West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford has apologised to MPs after admitting he gave incorrect evidence about the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from a Europa League match against Aston Villa, blaming the mistake on artificial intelligence.
The controversy centres on a report used to justify the decision to block away fans from travelling to Villa Park in November, which included intelligence about a fictional match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and West Ham United that never took place. The information was presented to Birmingham City Council’s Safety Advisory Group, which relied on police advice when making the call.
Guildford has now confirmed the false reference came from Microsoft Copilot, an AI tool, not from a manual Google search as he had previously told the Commons home affairs committee. In a letter to the committee’s chair, Dame Karen Bradley, he accepted responsibility and said: “I would like to offer my profound apology to the committee for this error, both on behalf of myself and that of ACC O'Hara.”
He explained that until late last week he genuinely believed the mistake had come from a standard online search. “My belief that this was the case was honestly held and there was no intention to mislead the committee,” he wrote.
The admission has intensified scrutiny of West Midlands Police, which has faced accusations of overstating the threat posed by the match to support the ban. The force had classified the fixture as high risk, pointing to past incidents involving Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, including violence and hate crime at a game in Amsterdam earlier in 2024. Dutch police later challenged parts of the intelligence cited by their UK counterparts.
The ban triggered political backlash at the time, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously calling it “the wrong decision”. Home secretary Shabana Mahmood has since ordered the policing watchdog to review how risk assessments are prepared for major events. She is expected to update MPs after receiving the inspectorate’s findings.
While Guildford has denied any political influence over the decision, pressure on his position has grown. The power to remove him sits with the West Midlands police and crime commissioner, Simon Foster, who has said he will formally review the evidence behind the ban.
