Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the letter from Chief Constable Craig Guildford to the Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, published on14 January 2026, in relation to his appearances before the Committee on the 1 December 2025 and 6 January 2026.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) reported on 14 January 2026 on its inspection into West Midlands Police’s match assessment and the advice provided to Birmingham City Council’s Safety Advisory Group ahead of the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv UEFA Europa League match played on 6 November 2025. The report referenced West Midlands Police’s use of AI in generating fictitious data used within their intelligence documents.

The Home Secretary made an oral statement to Parliament on 14 January, setting out the government’s response to HMICFRS’s findings. HMICFRS’s findings have been shared with the Home Affairs Select Committee, with copies placed in the libraries of both Houses. They have also been published in full: Inspection of police forces’ contributions to safety advisory groups: West Midlands Police

We know that AI can be a powerful tool to support investigations and to free up officer time to get them back on our streets. But of course, any use of AI must be used responsibly and ethically, and its output should be thoroughly sense checked by officers before use. Responsible use of AI will be an important part of our upcoming Police Reform White Paper.