Maccabi fan ban evidence 'changed to fit decision'

Evidence cited by police which led to the controversial banning of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a match against Aston Villa was based on facts "changed to fit a decision," a group of MPs has heard.

The government's independent adviser on antisemitism, Lord Mann, told the Home Affairs Committee he "struggled" with some "inaccurate" details given by the West Midlands force.

Some of the evidence "conflated" different things in regard to a fixture against Ajax in Amsterdam, he said, giving one examples of running street battles that did not occur on a match day.

Chief Constable Craig Guildford told the committee the decision to ban fans "wasn't taken lightly".

Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were prohibited from attending the 6 November game at Villa Park in Birmingham, a decision that was later reviewed.

The police evaluation was based primarily on information given to the force by Dutch police commanders ahead of the game, the MPs heard.

Assistant Chief Constable Mike O'Hara and West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster are also being questioned their decision-making.

The match, policed by more than 700 officers, passed off without serious disorder and only a handful of arrests, following the decision on the ban by the city's Safety Advisory Group (SAG), a panel that includes Birmingham City Council as well as police.

Lord Mann also highlighted an error in the West Midlands Police intelligence report which referenced a match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and West Ham, which had never happened, he said.

The chief constable admitted that had ended up in the report "due to a social media post".