WIREDGOV

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has begun an independent investigation into the role West Midlands Police officers and staff played in the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending a Europa League match in Birmingham.

We have decided to use our ‘power of initiative’ to call-in the matter and independently investigate to determine if any officer or staff member may have a case to answer for misconduct.

We have examined a wealth of evidence relating to the force’s planning for the match at Aston Villa on 6 November last year.

As questions remain about individual roles, duties and planning for the game, we have determined an independent investigation is warranted.

IOPC Director General Rachel Watson said:

“In the last 24 hours we’ve received new information from West Midlands Police around their initial assessment of any potential misconduct. We have also requested more evidence from HMICFRS.

“There are many unanswered questions and it’s right for accountability and public confidence for us to independently investigate. We will now undertake a full assessment of the evidence, and gather more where necessary, to establish if any of the officers may have breached police professional standards in relation to duties and responsibilities.

“Our investigation will examine the briefings and intelligence report provided to the Safety Advisory Group (SAG) which underpinned the decision to ban supporters. HMICFRS found it contained inaccuracies. We will go beyond that to understand who was involved in its preparation, how information was obtained, and what checks were in place. It was incumbent on those preparing and delivering the report to ensure its veracity and that reasonable efforts be made to ensure it was accurate.

“Our investigation will also consider the record keeping, or lack of, by individual officers and the assertion in briefing documents to the SAG that local representatives of the Jewish community in Birmingham had been consulted.

“In addition, today (19 Jan) we have also received a voluntary conduct referral from West Midlands Police relating to one senior police officer and a staff member over the force’s use of AI. This will form part of our independent investigation to provide the full picture to understand what happened.”

To date, we have not received any referrals from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner in relation to former Chief Constable Craig Guildford.

Our assessment of former-CC Guildford’s actions is continuing following his retirement. We also need to wait until the Home Affairs Committee has finalised its report before any decisions on any potential conduct matters that may arise from evidence presented to the committee can be considered by the IOPC.

Update: Shortly after this was issued, we received a referral from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, which we are assessing.