A mosque involved in West Midlands Police’s decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from Birmingham was on the panel that appointed its chief constable.
The former chief executive of Green Lane Mosque, Kamran Hussain, was part of the team that assessed Craig Guildford before he was made Chief of West Midlands police three years ago.
Before banning Maccabi supporters from attending a Europa League match against Aston Villa, the force consulted the mosque, which is based around four miles away from Villa Park Stadium.
This information was disclosed by Mr Guildford in a letter to MPs on the Home Affairs Committee.
Force leaders defended their position at the Committee after being recalled to give further evidence over the decision to ban the supporters.
Fans were barred from travelling to the game at Villa Park by the local Safety Advisory Group (Sag), which cited alleged “safety concerns” based on advice from the police force.
The decision by the Sag, which is made up of representatives from the council, police and other authorities, sparked cross-party political fury.
Since then, WMP’s “intelligence” has been repeatedly called into question – notably over the accuracy of its own information.
On Tuesday, Mr Guildford claimed the ban was not politically influenced.
Chief Constable Craig Guildford has defended his force’s actions
|
PAMr Guildford’s 2022 appointment was made after he appeared before an interview panel organised by the Labour Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands, Simon Foster, and Mr Hussain of Green Lane Mosque.
It is not known who else was on the panel because of mysterious redactions to the documents, as revealed by The Times.
Tory MP Nick Timothy, an Aston Villa fan and fierce critic of the force’s Israeli fan ban, said: “This alarming story sums up the whole problem.
“West Midlands Police relied on false intelligence to justify banning Israeli fans from Villa Park at the behest of Islamist agitators.
“They discussed the decision with Green Lane Mosque. Who do we think is in charge here? The obvious conclusion is that it is not the police.”
FURY AT THE FAN BAN – READ MORE:
Israeli fans were barred from travelling to the game at Villa Park
|
GETTY
The mosque has previously come under fire after a speaker at the centre said men can physically discipline their wives.
Aqeel Mahmood addressed the masjid on December 17, speaking about marital rights and obligations where he asserted men possessed “a level of authority over the woman” and were entitled to obedience from their spouses.
Mr Mahmood stated physical discipline was permissible as a “last resort” when wives proved rebellious, although he added it should not cause pain, injury, fear or humiliation, describing it as “more symbolic”.
The preacher also declared it was “common sense” wives should not leave their homes without obtaining their husband’s permission.
Tory MP Nick Timothy, an Aston Villa fan, raged at police behaving at the ‘behest of Islamist agitators’
|
HOUSE OF COMMONS
A spokesman for Green Lane Mosque has said it is committed to “community cohesion and mutual respect”.
They told The Times the centre provides domestic abuse counselling and other services for women, adding the comments had been taken out of context and that it “categorically rejects harm of any kind.”
It said that “extracting isolated phrases from longer lectures and presenting them as advocacy for abuse is misleading and does not reflect the values, policies, or legal obligations of the charity”.
The National Secular Society has reported the sermon to the regulator, saying it “condoned ‘physical discipline’ of women and promoted a highly controlling, sexist attitude towards wives.”
The regulator confirmed it had opened a regulatory compliance case to gather more information and check the mosque’s compliance with previous interventions.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick warned mass migration and the “abject failure of integration” had left police unable to “assert control or maintain order” in some parts of the country due to the influence of Islamism, writing in The Telegraph.
Pointing to the row over the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from Villa Park he said: “The British state has failed the British people by facilitating this disastrous experiment with mass migration over the past 25 years.
“Now its institutions refuse to act against the problem of Islamism or even acknowledge it.”