Craig Guildford banned Israeli fans based on Microsoft's match report, told MPs 'we don't use AI,' then discovers... they did

The chief constable of West Midlands Police has retired after his force used fictional output from Microsoft Copilot in deciding to ban Israeli fans from attending a football match at Birmingham club Aston Villa.

Chief Constable Craig Guildford, 52, retired from England's third-largest police force on 16 January. He was due to meet his boss, Simon Foster, Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands, on January 27.

He had earlier written to the chair of the House of Commons home affairs committee to apologize for incorrectly saying his officers had not used generative artificial intelligence (AI) when researching whether to block Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending a Europa League match against Aston Villa on 6 November 2025.

West Midlands Police made its decision to block the away fans partly based on reports of disruption at a non-existent match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and London club West Ham ...