West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford announced his ‘immediate’ retirement after his force used ‘exaggerated and untrue’ intelligence to justify a ban on Israeli football fans.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the police chief had ‘done the right thing’ after an investigation unearthed a ‘catalogue of failings that have harmed trust’ in the force.

She had told the Commons she had ‘no confidence’ in Mr Guildford following the decision last October to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending their Europa League fixture at Aston Villa. His force advised the Safety Advisory Group to bar supporters of the Israeli club from Villa Park highlighting their involvement in previous violence.

Home Secretary had 'no confidence' in police chief(Image: PA Wire)

But a review by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services found eight ‘inaccuracies’ in the force’s report to the safety group. Among them was a reference to a non-existent match between Tel Aviv and West Ham found to be an ‘AI hallucination’ produced by Microsoft Copilot.

Other errors included claims fans were linked to the Israeli Defence Forces and had intentionally targeted...