Select committee: Home Affairs Committee
Conclusion 5
5th Report - Maccabi Tel Aviv fan ban
Published 22 Feb 2026
Addressed to Home Office
Home Affairs Committee Football Policing All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Former Chief Constable Guildford was not informed ahead of giving oral evidence on 6 January that Microsoft Copilot AI had been used to generate the erroneous information about a match between West Ham and Maccabi Tel Aviv. On this basis we can only conclude that the former Chief Constable did not intentionally mislead the Committee. However, by 6 January 2026 we understand that the use of AI had been disclosed within West Midlands Police, so it is reasonable to expect that former Chief Constable Guildford and Assistant Chief Constable O’Hara should have been accurately briefed on this matter. Having been asked specifically about the use of AI on 1 December 2025, it demonstrates a remarkable lack of professional curiosity on the part of the former Chief Constable not to interrogate the evidential basis to furnish himself with accurate information ahead of our session on 6 January. The fact that he was able to give the Committee incorrect information on two separate occasions is more evidence of the poor due diligence which West Midlands Police applied to information in this case. It should not have taken two oral evidence sessions and a subsequent written correction to achieve candour and accuracy; this raises serious questions about the culture of transparency and commitment to accuracy in West Midlands Police. (Conclusion, Paragraph 24)
From: Home Affairs Committee, 5th Report - Maccabi Tel Aviv fan ban (HC 1553), 22 February 2026
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 29 April 2026 (deadline 22 April 2026).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government sets out work under way on Safety Advisory Group guidance and on a possible designation of events of national significance, but does not recommend a formal escalation mechanism "at this stage".
- A Cabinet Office-owned UK Resilience Academy review of Safety Advisory Group guidance "will result in the publication of new guidance", intended to strengthen members' ability to challenge effectively; no publication date is given.
- On escalation, consideration is being given to whether a "clear and proportionate mechanism" is needed, but any such process would require agreement across government on thresholds, decision-making responsibilities and how intervention would operate.
- On elected politicians sitting on Safety Advisory Groups, the government "agrees" membership should continue to be grounded in operational, regulatory and technical expertise, notes local authorities already have discretion over composition, and says the new guidance "will set out its position on political involvement".
- On a new category of football matches of national significance, officials are working across departments to consider options, but the government "will take account" of the HMICFRS findings, expected shortly, "before finalising proposals or setting out next steps".