UK ministers faced intense questioning in the House of Commons after revelations that West Midlands Police used incorrect and allegedly fabricated intelligence to justify banning Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from attending Aston Villa’s Europa Conference League match on 6 November 2025.
MP Nick Timothy challenged the government over claims police intelligence—supposedly sourced from Dutch authorities—wrongly described Israeli fans as “highly organized fighters linked to the IDF” who target Muslim communities. These claims were later contradicted by Dutch police and by an official report.
00:00We come to the next urgent question, Nick Timothy.
00:04Speaker, to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to make a statement on the intelligence used by West Midlands Police that led to the ban on Maccabee Televiv fans from attending Villa Park on 6th November 2025.
00:19Can I congratulate the Honourable Gentleman on securing this urgent question?
00:24Let me begin by acknowledging the concern and disappointment felt by supporters affected by the decision regarding attendance at Villa Park on 6th November.
00:34I recognise the strength of feeling within this House and the wider communities on this matter.
00:40As members will appreciate, operational decisions regarding public safety at football matches are a matter for the Police, working closely with local partners and event organisers.
00:50In this case, West Midlands Police, in consultation with the club and the local safety advisory group, made the recommendation to advise that away fans should not attend, based on their assessment of the intelligence available to them at the time.
01:06I am sure the House will understand that I am limited in what I can say about the specific intelligence underpinning this decision.
01:12These are sensitive matters and it is vital that the Police act on information received to protect public safety.
01:17The West Midlands Police issued a statement in response to the latest media reporting on the intelligence they used and are carrying out a debrief of the events leading up to the match and will be publishing the timeline of events, the decisions taken and the rationale for the recommendations that were provided to the safety advisory group.
01:39In light of recent events and to ensure robust oversight, the Home Secretary has commissioned His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary for Fire and Rescue Services to review how police forces in England and Wales provide risk assessment advice to local safety advisory groups and other bodies responsible for licensing high-profile public events.
02:02This inspection will consider whether police advice takes proper account of all relevant factors, including the impact on wider community relations, and whether the balance between public safety and community considerations is being struck effectively.
02:18I want to assure members that understanding the series of events that occurred in the period before the match was played and remains of keen interest to me and, of course, to the Home Secretary.
02:30The Government is clear that there is no place for hatred or discrimination in football or, indeed, in wider society.
02:36We are committed to ensuring that fans can attend matches safely, regardless of background or affiliation.
02:44Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
02:46The ban on Israeli Jewish supporters was a disgrace.
02:50But the justification given by West Midlands Police, it turns out, was based on fiction.
02:55The police said their intelligence came from Dutch counterparts after the Ajax-Macabee-Tel-Aviv match last year.
03:02West Midlands Police called the Israeli fans, quote, highly organised, coordinated, experienced fighters linked to the Israel Defence Forces.
03:09They said they intentionally targeted Muslim communities and 5,000 officers were deployed in response.
03:15But this was contradicted by an official Dutch report and the Dutch police themselves.
03:20They called the West Midlands Police claims not true and obviously inaccurate.
03:24In some cases, such as the Israeli victim thrown into the river, the facts were inverted with Israelis presented as aggressors.
03:32West Midlands Police repeated their claims to the Home Affairs Select Committee chairman on Friday,
03:37and they refused to answer specific questions from the Sunday Times or justified their claims.
03:42So will the Minister ensure the publication of all intelligence material?
03:46It's mostly not sensitive.
03:47It can be redacted where necessary relating to the ban.
03:50Will lists of individuals and organisations consulted by West Midlands Police and the Safety Advisory Group
03:56and all those who submitted evidence be published?
03:59Can the Minister confirm no organisations linked to the Muslim Brotherhood or organisations subject to government non-engagement participated?
04:07Can she confirm the Hind Rajab Foundation submitted a paper and that this was accepted by West Midlands Police?
04:14What intelligence was shared by West Midlands Police with the UK Football Policing Unit and National Police Chiefs Council?
04:22Which information was given to Home Office Ministers and officials and when?
04:28Officials were told of the options under consideration on 2 October, two weeks before the ban was announced.
04:34So what did Ministers do in the intervening period?
04:37Mr Speaker, under pressure from Islamist agitators, local politicians and thugs,
04:43an English police force is accused of fabricating intelligence and misleading the public.
04:48This could hardly be more serious.
04:50We need Ministers to hold the Chief Constable to account and give the country the truth.
04:58Can I thank him for his questions?
05:02I hope he will understand in the first instance the principle, I know he does, of police operational independence
05:07and we need to make sure we are reflecting that in a correct way when decisions such as this are taken.
05:16I think stepping back there are wider lessons that we need to learn which is why the Home Secretary has written to the Inspector
05:25to ask him to look at how the SAG process occurs and how it makes decisions.
05:32Members will know it was set up basically following the Hillsborough tragedy as a sort of means by which
05:39we can make decisions and ensure secure safety in football and indeed in other large-scale events.
05:47But the Home Secretary has asked the Inspector to consider the degree to which the police take account
05:56intelligence, the degree to which the SAG process takes into account wider community impacts
06:02and that speaks to the question that I can't answer to him now of who was giving information
06:08and what basis was the police making their decision on or making their recommendation on.
06:13And the review will look at whether the balance of these factors is being struck correctly.
06:18So I hope we will come back through that process which we have asked the Inspector to come back to us
06:26with initial conclusions by March next year.
06:29We have made the funding available for him to do this additional inspection
06:33and we wrote to him just at the end of October to ask him to do this work.
06:38On the specific details of the chronology of events, he's absolutely right that Home Office officials
06:45asked the United Kingdom Football Policing Unit for an update on the match on the 2nd of October
06:53and they were told that there was a force gold was considering and it would go to the SAG for decisions
07:02and they laid out several different options at that time that were available in terms of the decision that was being made.
07:12I've written to the West Midlands Chief to ask for some clarity following, of course, yesterday's newspaper article.
07:20I can't tell the Honourable Member, I'm sure he'll appreciate why, the truth of those claims.
07:27It's a newspaper article, we want to get to the bottom of it, but of course there are questions within that
07:32that we need to understand and I've written to the Police Chief to answer those questions
07:38and of course I'm very happy to share more information as I get it
07:42and of course I think the Home Affairs Select Committee will be taking and already have in terms of their liaison with West Midlands
07:49already taking a lead on asking some of these questions.
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