Charlie Dewhirst
Main Page: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)Department Debates - View all Charlie Dewhirst's debates with the Home Office
Maccabi Tel Aviv FC: Away Fans Ban
Charlie Dewhirst Excerpts(1 day, 4 hours ago)
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Sarah Jones
The hon. Member raises a good question. Of course, we need to work with the Jewish community to make sure that relationships with police are strong. The Community Security Trust has a really good relationship with police. It works very closely with them, and it obviously has a huge infrastructure, for which we are very grateful, that helps it to monitor synagogues and other spaces. As probably many Members have done, I have been to its head office and seen the work that it does. Indeed, it has a police officer embedded in the operations centre some of the time. Those relationships are good, but the wider Jewish community of course needs to feel that it can go to the police and report crimes. I would encourage all members of that community to do so whenever they are affected by any kind of hate crime, so that we can make sure that the figures are accurate. I will of course keep working to make sure that we get this right.
Charlie Dewhirst (Bridlington and The Wolds) (Con)
The whole House recognises the challenge posed by football hooliganism, but anyone with the slightest knowledge of football would accept that this hooliganism is restricted to a very small minority of fans of clubs and countries across the world. Will the Minister work with colleagues in the Home Office and police forces across the country to ensure that next time an Israeli club draws a British club in a European competition, or the Israeli national side draws one of the home nations in a qualifying competition—or, indeed, if Israel were to qualify for Euro 2028—those fans would be welcome in the United Kingdom to enjoy our football and our hospitality?
Sarah Jones
Of course, we want to ensure that all fans from all parts of the world are welcome in this country. The hon. Member is absolutely right to say that the problem of football hooliganism is nothing like what it was in the 1980s. There was a football match at Villa from which fans were banned in 2023, but I think that decision was made in response to activity in the immediate vicinity of the match. He is right to say that this is not a large problem any more—thank goodness—in part because of great policing, and in part because we have changed how football matches work. They are much more family affairs than they used to be, and there is less alcohol—all things that have helped us with these issues. He is right: we of course want to welcome Israeli fans, whenever they come.