West Midlands Police has officially apologized for claiming that the Jewish community approved of its ban on Israeli Maccabi TLV fans attending a match against Aston Villa on November 6.
The decision sparked outrage and has been the subject of extensive investigation in the weeks since, especially after it transpired that some of the intelligence in the police’s report was bogus.
The new apology relates to an incident during a Home Affairs Select Committee earlier in December, where Assistant Chief Constable Mike O’Hara responded “yes” when asked if there were Jewish community representatives who said they did not want Maccabi Tel Aviv fans to attend the fixture.
However, this was not the case, and Ruth Jacobs, chair of the Birmingham and West Midlands Jewish Community, said she had been “horrified” at the claim.
In a letter to Dame Karen Bradley, chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, Chief Constable Craig Guildford confirmed there was “no documented feedback from Jewish representatives prior to the decision being communicated which expressed support for the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans.”
Claimed there was never any intention to mislead
Guildford apologized to the committee on behalf of himself and O’Hara and said there was never any intention to mislead. He also relayed that O’Hara had formally apologized to Jacobs and that the apology had been accepted.
Unusually, Guilford, O’Hara, and Chief Inspector Mick Wilkinson have been called to re-testify before Parliament next week, a move that could also trigger a police watchdog investigation.
Recalling constables for oral testimony is relatively unprecedented.
A large part of the reason for the recall is the inclusion of dramatically incorrect statements within the intelligence report that formed the basis of the ban. This included the claim that Maccabi’s last match in the UK was against West Ham; however, such a match never took place. This falsity is not addressed in Guilford’s letter.
Officials from Birmingham City Council will also be questioned during the recall committee next Tuesday. The council has additionally confirmed to Dame Bradley that it has commissioned an independent review of the decision.