00:00A decision to bar Israeli away fans from a football...
00:05...match in Birmingham has escalated into a major policing and political row.
00:10It drew in the Home Secretary and led to the retirement of the West Midlands.
00:15Police Chief Constable.
00:17It's also raised serious questions about the intelligence...
00:20...match used.
00:21Now the focus is on accountability and the role of the...
00:25...the region's Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster who is facing growing calls...
00:30...to resign.
00:31This is how he responded when we asked about that...
00:35...pressure.
00:36As Police and Crime Commissioner one of my statutory duties is to do a...
00:40...exactly that.
00:41It's about local democratic accountability.
00:45Do bear in mind that we have had a provisional letter from H...
00:50...HMIC but HMIC is a national body.
00:53Equally the Home Affairs Committee...
00:55...has been looking into this matter.
00:57But that consists of MPs in Westminster...
01:00...none of whom are from the West Midlands.
01:02So it was really important that we had...
01:05...a forum for local democratic accountability in connection with this particular...
01:10...issue and my Accountability and Governance Board is the way that we deal with...
01:15...that in the West Midlands as far as policing is concerned.
01:18Mr Foster says his role...
01:20...is to hold the force to account through due process...
01:24...not to...
01:25...intervene operationally.
01:27He argues he followed the law...
01:29...and acted once...
01:30...and its concerns about the intelligence picture became clear.
01:34Critics argue that the...
01:35...the police and crime commissioner was too slow to respond...
01:38...and that stronger leadership...
01:40...was needed as the controversy intensified.
01:43Some groups say the...
01:45...kindling of the damaged trust...
01:47...particularly within the Jewish community.
01:50The Home Secretary had commissioned the report by...
01:55...the HMIC...
01:57...not only in relation to the way West Midlands...
01:59...the police had dealt with them...
02:00...but also the wider considerations concerning...
02:03...safety advisory groups across the...
02:05...the country.
02:06She commissioned...
02:07...that report by HMIC...
02:09...so of course...
02:10...she was perfectly entitled...
02:12...having commissioned it...
02:13...and received it.
02:15...to announce it in the House of Commons...
02:17...and express her view...
02:19...as to the...
02:20...the outcome of that report.
02:22So that was entirely a matter...
02:24...for the...
02:25...the Home Secretary.
02:26And of course...
02:27...as she made very clear...
02:28...in the House of Commons...
02:29...any future action...
02:30...following...
02:31...the outcome of her announcement...
02:33...in the HMIC provisional letter.
02:35...was entirely a matter for me...
02:36...as police and crime commissioner.
02:38Reviews into...
02:40...to how policing decisions were made...
02:42...are still ongoing...
02:43...and changes to...
02:45...future match policing...
02:46...have been promised...
02:47...but with criticism...
02:49...continuing...
02:50...and political pressure...
02:51...unresolved...
02:52...the fallout from the ban...
02:54...continues...
02:55...to hangover policing...
02:56...and accountability...
02:57...here in the West Midlands.
03:00...and to have come from...
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