West Midlands Police (WMP) Chief Constable Craig Guildford has issued a formal apology to the Home Affairs Committee (HAC) after confirming that an incorrect reference to a non existent football match in a report to Birmingham City Council’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG) originated from the use of Microsoft Copilot, despite earlier assurances to MPs that no AI tools had been used.
The force has faced scrutiny since December over how a supposed West Ham United v Maccabi Tel Aviv fixture came to be included in a policing assessment submitted to the SAG. The match never took place.
When first questioned by MPs on 1 December, Guildford told the Committee that the incorrect reference was the result of “some social media scraping that was done”, adding that while the detail was wrong, the wider document remained sound.
Pressed by Paul Kohler MP on whether the force had used AI to identify the match, Guildford rejected the suggestion, insisting: “We do a very comprehensive assessment.”
Appearing again on 6 January, he reiterated that WMP “do not use AI”, stating that officers had instead relied on a Google search after failing to locate relevant intelligence on the national football policing system. Asked by Committee chair Dame Karen Bradley whether the Google search had used an AI function, Guildford replied that he had been told it was simply a standard search.
Letter to Committee confirms Copilot was used
However, in a letter sent to Dame Karen Bradley and published this week, Guildford said he had since learned - while preparing material for an HMICFRS inquiry - that the erroneous match reference had in fact been generated using Microsoft Copilot.
“Both ACC O’Hara and I had, up until Friday afternoon, understood that the West Ham match had only been identified through the use of Google,” he wrote. “I would like to offer my profound apology to the Committee for this error, both on behalf of myself and that of ACC O’Hara.”
Guildford said his earlier statements to MPs were based on information he had been given at the time and that his belief that the match had been identified via Google was “honestly held”. He stressed there had been “no intention to mislead the Committee”.
The Chief Constable confirmed that the force will submit additional evidence to the Committee explaining how the incorrect information entered the SAG report and how the use of Copilot went unidentified during earlier internal checks.
