Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has been urged to take the “nuclear option” and sack the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police.

Pressure is piling on Craig Guildford after a series of reports – and a Home Affairs Select Committee appearance – revealed major doubts about the intelligence his force used to ban Israeli fans from an Aston Villa game in November.

Committee members are said to be “unanimous in their disappointment” at the evidence given by police last week.

One MP told The Times that sacking him would be the “nuclear option” – but there was now “no other option” if it was confirmed that the force had given a misleading account.

Ms Mahmood is keeping all options on the table, according to the newspaper.

The MP said: “I do believe strongly in the principle of police operational independence, but when you’ve got a community that’s lost all faith in its police force, and the potential that they have misled parliament, and it’s looking that way at the moment, then I don’t see any other option for the Home Secretary.”

She could invoke Section 40 of the Police Act 1996 and sack the police chief.

Under the Act, the Home Secretary can step in to prevent police from “failing to discharge its functions in an effective manner”.

Sir Andy Cooke, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, is looking into the force’s handling of the game.

Sir Andy is set to report to Ms Mahmood within days – and his findings will then be shared with Parliament.

“Whatever happens, I don’t see this ending well,” the MP said.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called for the chief to be relieved of his duties, saying the force had “capitulated to Islamists”.

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Over the weekend, The Telegraph revealed police logs that had recorded “Asian youths looking for a fight” heading to the game hours before kick-off – at the same time, Chief Superintendent Tom Joyce blamed fans of the Israeli club for the ban based on their “hooliganism”.

Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick wrote in The Telegraph: “Police can no longer sustain their authority in parts of Britain and have to lie to preserve the illusion.”

The fallout began when the force announced a ban on Maccabi fans travelling to their Europa League match against Aston Villa in October.

West Midlands Police relied on Dutch intelligence after a game involving the Israeli club and Ajax had descended into chaos a year prior – intelligence that has since been dismissed as false or misleading.

The force had claimed as many as 600 Maccabi supporters deliberately attacked Muslim neighbourhoods while they were in Amsterdam. Dutch officers have since said that “provocations came from both sides.”

They also alleged that fans pushed members of the public into canals and that 200 supporters had connections to the Israeli military.

Dutch police had no reference for this claim, and the five people convicted in Amsterdam in 2024 were all for violence against Israelis.

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