West Midlands Police has come under sustained scrutiny after artificial intelligence-generated material played a role in the force’s decision to seek a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters for a Europa League fixture in November 2025, prompting senior resignations and an official referral to the police watchdog. According to reporting in The Guardian, an erroneous match record produced by Microsoft Copilot , including a fabricated fixture between Maccabi Tel Aviv and West Ham , was incorporated into the intelligence used to justify the ban.

The episode led to the immediate retirement of Chief Constable Craig Guildford amid criticism from ministers and media coverage that questioned his earlier explanations. The force’s own statement acknowledged his departure and said he stepped down because the political and press attention had become harmful to policing work, while the Police and Crime Commissioner later referred Mr Guildford to the Independent Office for Police Conduct over concerns about misleading intelligence.

At a recent West Midlands Police and Crime Panel meeting, councillors and the police leadership confronted the wider implications of using generative AI in operational decision-making. Councillor Jilly Bermingham warned that AI had been "a key failure within the decision" and asked how future misuse would be prevented; Panel chair Councillor Suky Samra invoked the film Minority Report to express unease about predictive policing. Both councillors’ remarks were reported in local coverage of the panel discussion.

Simon Foster, the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, said he had been "shocked" to learn the tool was not subject to established intelligence-management checks and disclosed that the force had disabled Microsoft Copilot while usage and governance arrangements were reviewed. He said an ethics panel in his office would examine the matter and stressed the need for AI to be "managed, regulated, understood" to avoid inaccuracies and "hallucinations." Those comments were made at the panel meeting and reported by the local press.

Acting Chief Constable Scott Green told councillors that AI was not extensively deployed across the force but confirmed the immediate suspension of Copilot within West Midlands Police pending assurance it could be relied upon and governed appropriately. The force has emphasised that normal intelligence-management processes were bypassed in this instance, a lapse described by Mr Foster as a significant failure.

Craig Guildford subsequently apologised for presenting incorrect evidence and acknowledged that the material had been generated by Copilot rather than originating from a web search, an admission covered by Sky News and Sky Sports. Those outlets reported his apology and the explanation that the AI-generated content was the source of the erroneous intelligence.

The incident has fuelled debate about the readiness of policing to integrate generative AI. Government policy documents referenced by the Police and Crime Commissioner envisage AI playing a larger role in future policing, but the Maccabi episode underscores the risks when outputs are not properly vetted through established oversight and verification channels. The Independent Office for Police Conduct will assess whether misconduct occurred as part of its ongoing scrutiny of the events.

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Source: Noah Wire Services