Former West Midlands Police chief constable Craig Guildford – who was allowed to retire on full pension – is being investigated for gross misconduct over his role in banning Israeli football fans from a match. The Telegraph has more.
Craig Guildford is under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), alongside three officers and a staff member.
The announcement by the police watchdog came after the force was accused of fabricating and exaggerating evidence to justify a ban on the Israeli fans at a Europa League game against Aston Villa at Birmingham’s Villa Park.
Guildford, the former head of England’s second biggest police force, stepped down from his post after an official inquiry found that “greatly exaggerated” intelligence was used to justify the ban.
The IOPC said on Wednesday that it had examined 600 pieces of evidence, including operational documents, reports, intelligence research, meeting minutes and correspondence, as well as witness statements.
It said the evidence indicated that Guildford “may have had oversight” of an intelligence briefing that was found to contain “inaccuracies and misleading information”.
The briefing was found to have presented an “imbalanced view” of the risk that Israeli fans posed.
A senior serving officer is also under investigation for failing to ensure the accuracy of the briefing, while a staff member involved in researching and compiling intelligence is alleged to have sourced inaccurate information using AI.
Two other senior serving officers, who played important roles in the force’s planning for the match, are being investigated for potential misconduct.
Chris Philp, the Shadow Home Secretary, said: “It is encouraging to see the IOPC are investigating Craig Guildford for gross misconduct, but this scandal should have been dealt with by the PCC Simon Foster months ago. The police should never allow themselves to be dictated to by Islamist antisemitic extremists, which is what happened here.
“West Midlands Police covered up threats of violence by elements of the local Muslim community towards Jewish football fans. The force then fabricated evidence to pretend the ban was instead because of the Maccabi fans’ own behaviour based on a previous game in Amsterdam. This is simply unacceptable.
“The police’s first duty is to protect those under threat of violence – West Midlands Police failed to do this and it’s right that those involved are thoroughly investigated.”
Guildford retired with immediate effect on Jan 16, two days after a damning report that caused Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, to say she had lost confidence in him. …
It also became clear to Guildford, who had a £220,000 annual salary and would retire on a full pension, that the row would cause months of distraction. One senior policing source described him as a “dead man walking” after the report.
Worth reading in full.
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“dead man walking”
More like a live man drawing a hefty pension for being manifestly inept at his job.
There should be no possibility of a senior public sector official being allowed to suddenly retire and claim their full pension, when they are under investigation for gross misconduct.
Theresa May instituted such a policy. It was withdrawn a few years later when the realisation dawned that it was costing them a fortune in wages, whilst most investigations did not end up with sackings (because most complaints against the police are bollocks – I know because I used to investigate them).
What should ideally happen is, if gross misconduct is proved, he should be prosecuted for Misconduct in a Public Office. If found guilty then a partial pension forfeiture should be considered.
Only partial? He would deserve nothing more than a basic State Pension.
So much to pick through with this sorry case;
I believe this case highlights how the Police Service operates at the behest of the Musim population and in preference to Islam. So much so that they will lie to do it.
At the same time I believe it betrays how left wing are the top ranks of the police service. This, naturally, would make them anti-semitic.
This isn’t just about pandering to woke. It’s much worse than that. It’s taking sides with a culture and belief system completely at odds with Western values and way of life. The Police Service has made its decision and picked it’s side.
Despite too many officers being as thick as two short planks, I believe most rank and file are unhappy with how the police service is perceived (woke, two-tier, racist, enemies of free-speech, etc) but agree or at least understand how the perceptions formed and why. That their trade body – the Police Federation – doesn’t speak up about this issue on their behalf shows, I believe, that the Federation also are left wing, woke, and anti-semitic. Or maybe just cowards. Or maybe all of them.
That it has taken this long for… Read more »
Who else was involved in the decision – up or down the chain of command? Did he talk to political leaders at local or national level? What was his motivation?
Twpo quangos are always implicated: the College of Policing and the senior officers group (can’t remember formal name). They were both set up by Theresa May as Home Secretary and they each report to the Home Office.
Each of them has hundreds of staff and a big budget. They are unaccountable to Parliament yet they determine the police interpretation of the law more than Parliament and they set police priorities more than PCCs.
Theresa May: the grift that keeps on giving.
This bad decision was taken months ago. Why did the investigation take so long. Was it intentional to allow him to retire before being held accountable.
What can now be done. Can an officer be disciplined after resigning.
I know a middle ranking officer who was under threat of investigation. He suddenly reported illness then resigned. Never held accountable. He was always a nasty piece of work.
Hopefully if Guildford is found to be at fault he will have that pension taken away.
Sadly there’s zero chance of this happening. This is why he resigned before he could be sacked, he knew he was in the shit but wanted to keep his pension.
Surely, if the misconduct occurred during his tenure, he is liable.
Can a burglar about to be prosecuted say ‘Nah, mate. I’ve gone straight since then’?
In 2024, in the aftermath of the Southport murders some districts in Birmingham were left in the control of Moslem vigilantes. A West Midlands Police spokesman described it as an example of successful community policing.
https://news.sky.com/video/birmingham-unrest-police-discuss-disorder-that-kicked-off-after-misinformation-spread-online-13192061
The Jew lobby strikes again.
Let’s wait for the result of the enquiry and its veracity before passing judgement.
What???
A clear and unbiased statement….. yep one of the smallest people’s on earth universally hated for just existing and massacred consistently throughout history by just about everyone else also run everything and everyone else on earth.
Peoples are universally hated for what they do NOT for what they are.
These peoples have a state and government who have consistently massacred women and children who live within their borders.
These peoples own governments around the world, own the banking system, own Hollywood and own the media so they can control the narrative.
Funny how the claims by neo-Nazis about an international Jewish conspiracy have now been adopted by the loony lefties.
Jewish people living in Birmingham have a government that actively encourages terrorist groups e.g. by recognising Palestine as a state.
Only loony lefties and vile anti-Semites see people as members of a group rather than individuals and think they’re responsible for what other members of that group are claimed to of done.
Maybe because both ends of the political spectrum are correct that there is an international Jewish conspiracy.
Recognising Palestine as a state is the moral thing to do and there is no reason why Jews in Birmingham or anyone else should see this as encouraging terrorism.
Jews that support the genocidal Israeli government are as bad as those that commit these crimes against humanity.
It’s hard to tell if you’re completely detached from reality or get some weird kick out of trying to wind people up.
I’ve spent the last 50 years researching the conflict in Palestine and the posts I make on here and elsewhere are my deeply held views after analysing all the facts.
If they wind up some people that is their problem not mine.