Following the recent release of a preliminary report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and the Home Secretary’s withdrawal of her confidence from West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford, Mr Guildford has now been allowed to retire.
Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster, who had the power to sack Mr Guildford, had not yet done so, instead calling a meeting for later this month to deliberate on the matter.
Under Craig Guildford’s leadership, West Midlands Police lied and obfuscated, victim-blaming Jews instead of taking on the Islamists.
His retirement, after the pitiful failure of West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster to sack him, should result in the resignation of Mr Foster as well. In any case, Mr Guildford’s must not be the last departure from among the force’s leadership, and obviously he cannot be replaced by another senior figure implicated in the same scandal.
The disgraceful conduct of Mr Guildford and Mr Foster shows who really rules the roost in local affairs in Birmingham. Focus must now turn to the Islamists who browbeat the police into carrying out their wishes to ban Jews: which individuals, groups and radical mosques participated in the campaign? What influence have they amassed over the local council, safety advisory group and police? What action, if any, has the Charity Commission taken against religious organisations with charitable status hosting extremist preachers? What action if any have the police taken against those who conspired to commit violence against Jewish fans and Israeli players?
What has happened in Birmingham is a test case for the British state. The man who is the national police lead on ethics and misconduct distorted reality and appeased Islamists before the eyes of the nation and instead of being sacked immediately, he was allowed to see himself out at his own pace, with all of the enormous benefits of retirement. The failures here are so multi-layered that it is no exaggeration to say that what happens next could well determine the future health of British society. If we do not stand up to blatant radicalism and institutional appeasement, this country is done for.
