West Midlands police commissioner criticises MPs for bias against chief constable

The man who will decide if the West Midlands chief constable, Craig Guildford, deserves to lose his job over the banning of Israeli fans from a football match has attacked MPs for being biased against him.Simon Foster, the West Midlands Police and crime commissioner, criticised MPs on the home affairs committee for allegedly briefing journalists that Guildford should be ousted, despite the fact their inquiry into the controversy continues.Police concluded that fans from Maccabi Tel Aviv should be banned from attending a Europa League game in Birmingham last November, claiming there was a high risk they would be violent. Their assessment is strongly disputed.Simon Foster said the alleged statements from MPs were ‘irresponsible and reckless’. Photograph: HandoutFoster said an official on the home affairs committee, which is investigating the saga and preparing a report, has apologised after some MPs were reported to have said they had already decided Guildford and the force’s guilt, despite evidence still to be heard.The report from the home affairs committee is expected to be weeks away.More immediately, findings from an inquiry ordered by the home secretary from the policing inspectorate into part of the controversy are expected to be sent to her on Wednesday.The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, will read the critical findings from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) about how the West Midlands force handled intelligence used to justify the ban. She will then decide if she still has faith in its chief constable, whose force denies it caved into antisemitism and reached its conclusions to appease extremists.Mahmood’s aides accept she has no power to sack Guildford, with Foster as PCC for the West Midlands the only person who can legally do so, making his intervention all the more crucial.In a statement, the PCC’s office said: “A civil servant phoned … saying they were sorry that MPs on the committee had been speaking to journalists about their views on the evidence they had heard, the private deliberations of the committee and the future of the chief constable, Craig Guildford, despite the MPs having not heard all of the evidence.”Foster said: “This is deeply regrettable and a matter of the utmost seriousness, that risks compromising and undermining public trust and confidence in the integrity of the [committee] and its forthcoming report.“It had been my intention to have due regard to the report, as part of my holding-to-account process, that will then in turn inform my decision making.“However, this is a matter that impacts not only the integrity of the [committee] process and preparation of the report, but also the MPs who are members of the [committee] and who have been responsible for this apparent irresponsible and reckless conduct.”Foster said the MPs should be named, ousted from influencing the report, and that he wants a public apology by the committee chair and “for the MPs concerned to voluntarily refer themselves to the parliamentary commissioner for standards and the committee on standards”.Sources say the PCC has an open mind about Guildford’s fate and wants to read the HMIC and home affairs committee findings before he decides the fate of the chief constable, whom he has praised for cutting crime and improving the force.A spokesperson for the home affairs committee declined to comment.The MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, Ayoub Khan, said that Guildford was being “thrown under the bus” and used as a “scapegoat” for the decision to ban away fans.The independent MP said it would be “disingenuous” of the home secretary to withdraw her confidence in Craig Guildford, as the Home Office was made aware of the decision to ban fans before it was announced.“To all of a sudden seek the removal of the chief constable when you know the highest echelons not only were within the knowledge, but actually supported the decision even by acquiescence, I think it’s disingenuous.”Khan said the sacking of the police chief would have a “chilling effect”, adding: “Politicians shouldn’t get involved in operational matters. People see this as a witch-hunt.”