Microsoft’s Copilot AI tool led to more inaccurate evidence being used by West Midlands Police (WMP) to pursue a ban on Israeli football fans, MPs have uncovered.
The revelation comes in a Commons select committee report into the controversial decision to exclude Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from a Europa League match at Aston Villa in November that already forced out the chief constable, Craig Guildford.
Sky News previously found discrepancies in how the force represented evidence from Amsterdam police about unrest around a Maccabi match at Ajax in 2024.
Now, a Home Affairs Select Committee report says: “We have since seen confidential evidence which indicates that some of the key claims presented by West Midlands Police in relation to the Amsterdam disorder originated from a query to Microsoft Copilot AI.
“Senior officers later quoted this inaccurate information, including in meetings of the SAG [Safety Advisory Group] and in oral evidence to us, suggesting that proper due diligence was not applied.”
WMP have been found to have overstated the threat posed by Maccabi fans – in part based on evidence about their conduct in Amsterdam – and understated the threat posed to them in Birmingham, with tensions inflamed by the Israel-Gaza war.
The force previously said AI was responsible for the fact its report referenced a match between the Israeli club and West Ham United that never happened.
Police twice insisted in committee hearings that Copilot was not responsible before admitting it was and apologising.
MPs say Mr Guildford was not informed of this before he gave evidence to the committee on 6 January, but say it was known within the force.
The committee report states: “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.”
The decision to ban Maccabi fans, ratified by Birmingham City Council’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG), was condemned by Prime Minister Keir Starmer when it was announced in October.
But the report criticises the government’s failure to prevent the ban, since the Home Office and Department for Culture, Media and Sport were informed a week before SAG’s decision was made public.
The Israeli team’s fans could still have been able to come “if the government had intervened privately”, the committee concludes.
Relations with Jewish community were ‘significantly damaged’
MPs say that Birmingham councillors had a “disproportionate opportunity to exert influence [….] on a deeply divisive political issue”, undermining trust that decisions were based on evidence and safety.
While the MPs add that they received no evidence “to suggest that antisemitism was a motivating factor in the decision”, they believe the failure to consult the Jewish community “significantly damaged relations with the Jewish community, and provided a basis for some to perceive the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans as antisemitic”.
The force only admitted in September that it had intelligence suggesting locals in Birmingham apparently wanted to “arm” themselves against Maccabi fans. The Aston area has a large Muslim population and strong pro-Palestinian activism.
WMP only revealed their main reason for the ban in an exclusive Sky News interview in November last year, citing hooliganism and racist violence by Maccabi fans in 2024 when they played against Ajax in Amsterdam. Although it was locals who were convicted for attacking Maccabi supporters.
The committee has now said the Cabinet Office should ban local councillors from sitting on SAGs.
Police force must ‘repair the damage’
Its chair, Dame Karen Bradley, has called on WMP to “repair the damage” with Jewish communities.
She said: “They must also ensure that there is a cultural shift around decision making where assumptions are tested and evidence fully checked.”
In a statement that does not mention the Jewish community, WMP today said they have since met “local representatives” to repair damage and “remain fully committed to learning from these events”.
The force said it could not comment further as there are ongoing police watchdog investigations.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she had no confidence in Mr Guildford
Mr Guildford retired early as chief constable last month after apologising for misleading the committee about the row, as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she had no confidence in him.
WMP said in a new statement: “We remain fully committed to learning from these events and have already made early efforts through a series of meetings with key local representatives to repair any damage caused by the loss of confidence that the public has in us.
“Following the release of the findings from the Home Affairs Committee investigation, West Midlands Police will work through the recommendations made and the Acting Chief Constable would welcome the opportunity to provide an update to the Committee in the future.”
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