"Chief Constable Craig Guildford, 52, retired from England's third-largest police force on 16 January. He was due to meet his boss, Simon Foster, Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands, on January 27. He had earlier written to the chair of the House of Commons home affairs committee to apologize for incorrectly saying his officers had not used generative artificial intelligence (AI) when researching whether to block Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending a Europa League match against Aston Villa on 6 November 2025."
"Home secretary Shabana Mahmood had earlier said she had no confidence in Guildford, although any decision on his employment was up to the West Midlands police and crime commissioner. As well as questions over where it had found material, the force was criticized for taking an anti-Israeli stance in making its decision. Generative AI tools have previously made up cases cited by lawyers in both the US and the UK."
Craig Guildford, 52, retired from West Midlands Police on 16 January after his force used fabricated output from Microsoft Copilot to justify banning Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from an Aston Villa Europa League match. The force partly based the decision on reports of disruption at a non-existent West Ham v Maccabi Tel Aviv match. Guildford initially told MPs on 6 January that officers found the material via a Google search and that "We do not use AI." In a 12 January letter he acknowledged the erroneous result arose from use of Microsoft Co Pilot (sic). Home secretary Shabana Mahmood said she had no confidence in Guildford. The force faced criticism for an apparent anti-Israeli stance. Generative AI has previously produced made-up cases cited in legal and consultancy contexts.
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