Watchdog to examine West Midlands Police role in Maccabi Tel Aviv fans ban

The police watchdog has told Sky News it will assess evidence provided by West Midlands Police to MPs and consider the findings of a review into how its intelligence assessment was used to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from Aston Villa.

The force is accused of misrepresenting the threat to justify advocating the exclusion of the Israeli club's fans from the Europa League match in Birmingham in November. An Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) spokesperson told Sky News: "It is right for public confidence and police accountability that the force's involvement in the decision-making process is examined by all relevant organisations, including the IOPC." West Midlands Police (WMP) has already had to apologise for providing misleading evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee.

The force's leadership faced further scrutiny from MPs on Tuesday about why they had only just revealed details of concerns about the local community in Birmingham apparently wanting to "arm" themselves against Maccabi fans. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called for the resignation of Chief Constable Craig Guildford, claiming he presented an "inversion of reality and misled a parliamentary committee".

The force told MPs on 1 December that the local Jewish community backed the ban on Maccabi fans from the Europa League match in November, but it later apologised to the committee and said there was "never any intention to mislead whatsoever". In a rare move, Mr Guildford was recalled to face questions for the second time in two months by the Home Affairs Select Committee.

"It is important for us to assess all available evidence before we make decisions over whether we should undertake any independent conduct investigations," the IOPC spokesperson said. "That includes evidence provided to the Home Affairs Select Committee, plus a review by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) of the intelligence picture and risk assessment provided by West Midlands Police to the Safety Advisory Group which helped inform the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from the match.

That report is expected to be available soon and we will consider its findings." 'Significant levels of hooliganism' WMP only revealed why it wanted Maccabi fans banned hours before the match in an interview with Sky News. While the threat to Israelis was a "consideration.