Head of West Midlands Police stands by decision to ban Israeli fans at Villa Park
The force pointed to violent clashes and hate crime offences in 2024 between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv as part of its justification.
The head of West Midlands Police said he stands by the accuracy of intelligence which led to fans of an Israeli football team being banned from an away game at Aston Villa, even after Dutch police claimed the decision was based on false information.
Chief Constable Craig Guildford told the Home Affairs Select Committee he did not doubt the "integrity" of his officers.
The force pointed to violent clashes and hate crime offences during the 2024 Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv as part of its justification.
Asked by MPs if the number of Dutch police officers deployed to the fixture in Amsterdam had been "made up", he said: "No, that's not right. That's that's really not fair.
"It was a professional assumption of what would be required over the period of days," he added.
Asked if any artificial intelligence (AI) had been used in the force's planning process, he said: "We we don't do that. We don't use the AI."