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West Midlands PCC Awaits Parliamentary Report Before Deciding on Chief Constable
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster will review Chief Constable Craig Guildford’s leadership after a watchdog found multiple intelligence failures.
- On Wednesday, West Midlands PCC Simon Foster declined to sack Chief Constable Craig Guildford, saying he listened to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and will await a parliamentary report before deciding.
- The policing watchdog found confirmation bias in intelligence behind the ban of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans at a November match at Villa Park, with Sir Andy Cooke describing a failure of leadership as damning.
- The watchdog's review found eight inaccuracies in the force's report to the Local Safety Advisory Group, including an AI hallucination by Microsoft Copilot and overstated Dutch police deployment; Sir Andy Cooke noted his views may develop as more information emerges.
- Pressure grew as local leaders and groups urged Craig Guildford to stand down or be sacked, while Mr Foster will take the matter to a public accountability and governance board meeting on Tuesday 27 January 2026 to question the chief constable.
- Mr Foster acknowledged strong public feeling and urged `due process and the law`, as the watchdog found `no evidence` antisemitism influenced the ban but warned of `imbalance` in information.
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26 Articles
26 Articles
Evening Standard+22 Reposted by 22 other sources
West Midlands police boss declines to sack chief constable amid ‘damning’ review
PCC Simon Foster has said he listened to Shabana Mahmood’s statement on Wednesday and awaits a parliamentary report over the matter.
·London, United Kingdom
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources26
Leaning Left3Leaning Right2Center18Last UpdatedBias Distribution78% Center
Bias Distribution
- 78% of the sources are Center
78% Center
13%
C 78%
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