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The Guardian view on Craig Guildford’s departure: right decision, dangerous implications | Editorial

The Guardian view on Craig Guildford’s departure: right decision, dangerous implications | Editorial

The West Midlands police chief finally bowed to government pressure and quit. But we should not sleepwalk into a centralised system After refusing to walk, in a manner reminiscent of Stuart Broad batting against the Australians in the 2013 Ashes, the West Midlands chief constable Craig Guildford has finally accepted the inevitable and retired with ill-concealed reluctance from his post. He had little alternative. On Wednesday the Home Office had released a critical report by the chief inspector of constabulary, Sir Andy Cooke, into the way West Midlands police supported banning Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans from attending a fixture in Birmingham against Aston Villa. The same day, Shabana Mahmood , the home secretary, told the Commons that she no longer had confidence in Mr Guildford. The chief constable tried to face down the criticism. But, on Friday, he quit. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here . Continue reading...