Yesterday, along with fellow West Midlands MPs Sir Andrew Mitchell, Wendy Morton and Mike Wood, I’ve formally called on the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to investigate the conduct of the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster.
This follows the deeply concerning decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from attending the Europa League match against Aston Villa in Birmingham last November, a decision that was justified using intelligence that has since been shown to be false or exaggerated.
The role of a Police and Crime Commissioner is clear: to hold police leadership to account, ensure effective policing, and maintain public trust.
In this case, that simply didn’t happen. While mistakes were made by senior officers, the PCC failed to act decisively, failed to hold leadership properly to account, and has since appeared to deflect responsibility rather than accept it. That failure has damaged Birmingham’s reputation and undermined confidence in policing across the West Midlands.
Public trust matters. Accountability matters. And when things go wrong at this level, there must be independent scrutiny.
That’s why we’ve asked the IOPC to investigate Mr Foster’s role in this affair and his failure to act despite clear evidence of serious shortcomings.
Residents of the West Midlands deserve better.
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