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- The Story behind polarising the Police Chief over Maccabi Tel Aviv fans ban
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The Story behind polarising the Police Chief
- The home secretary has lost confidence in the police chief behind the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans’ ban.
- The police chief faces pressure to resign amid ongoing backlash.
- The situation highlights tensions between law enforcement and government officials regarding fan safety and policies.
- The police department has received criticism for its handling of the ban.
- Officials are re-evaluating the measures in place for crowd control during sporting events.
Home Secretary Calls for Police Chief’s Resignation Over Maccabi Tel Aviv Fans Ban
The controversy surrounding the ban of Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans from an upcoming match has led UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to express a lack of confidence in the police chief responsible, urging his resignation. This move follows significant backlash and a perceived failure in judgement regarding public safety.
The ban was put in place against the backdrop of ongoing tensions relating to the Israeli genocide in Gaza, compounding complexities in policing strategies within the UK. The main opponents of the ban argue that it undermines the spirit of sport, but it was a precedented act which has been within the rules of FIFA and UEFA, similarly to the ban of Russia following the Ukraine invasion. Opponents fail to acknowledge the nuanced dynamics of fan safety at a major sporting event.
The incident unfolded in Birmingham, where the police chief, who has not publicly resigned, faces scrutiny from various stakeholders. In a recent statement, Mahmood declared, “confirmation bias”, and that it overplayed the threat posed by Maccabi fans, and underplayed the threat to them in Birmingham.”
Voicing the community’s outrage, a local MP noted, “This decision has sent a troubling message about civic freedoms and the role of sports in bridging divides.” The police chief’s response thus far has been limited, raising further questions about accountability.
The inquiry has been overshadowed by one outlier incident where, along with other footage seen during the process by the Police, an AI generated video was also seen as part of the evidence, which according to the he Home Secretary is a dereliction of duty. It should be clarified, removing that video would not have changed the Forces decision. As Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv fans have a history of violence during European games.
This unfolding situation has not only sparked debates on community relations but also highlights the delicate balance between public safety and rights to assembly, leaving many to ponder whether the police chief will heed calls for his departure amidst increasing public scrutiny and political pressure, especially from influential political lobby’s like Friends for Israel.
The inquiry into Birmingham Police Forces actions is a politically motivated witch-hunt to satisfy the pressure from Israel, and stakeholders who cannot accept the jurisdiction and autonomy of British police in the UK, whose primary objective is to serve and protect the people of the United Kingdom, not Israel.
What other Media outlets have reported
Police chief behind Maccabi Tel Aviv ban clings to job despite home secretary wanting him to quit
The Guardian
West Midlands Police ‘extremely sorry’ for errors as Mahmood loses confidence in chief constable
BBC
Home secretary says she has lost confidence in police chief behind Maccabi Tel Aviv fans ban
The Guardian
UK government urges police chief to quit over ban of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans
ESPN
October 12, 2024
6:18 am
‘Cheer up, you caught the bad guy,’ says killer Virginia McCullough as she is arrested for murdering her parents
A woman who murdered her parents “in cold blood” before hiding them in makeshift tombs for four years told officers to “cheer up, you caught the bad guy” as she was arrested in her home.
Virginia McCullough, 36, poisoned her father John McCullough, 70, with prescription medication and fatally stabbed her mother Lois McCullough, 71, shortly afterwards in 2019.
She ran up large debts on credit cards in her parents’ names and after their deaths, she continued to spend their pensions until she was finally caught in 2023.
In body-worn video footage released by police, a handcuffed – and eerily calm – McCullough told officers: “I did know that this would kind of come eventually.
“It’s proper that I serve my punishment.”
She said she had slipped something into her father’s drink then put his body under a bed on the ground floor, and put her mother’s body in an upstairs wardrobe.
McCullough, having been arrested on suspicion of double murder, told an officer: “Cheer up, at least you’ve caught the bad guy.”
She added: “I know I don’t seem 100% evil.”
At the police station, she told officers where a kitchen knife was, which she described as a “murder weapon”, and a hammer which she said “will still have blood on it”.
McCullough, of Pump Hill, Chelmsford, Essex, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday with a minimum term of 36 years at Chelmsford Crown Court, after she admitted to their murders between 17 and 20 June 2019 at an earlier hearing at the same court.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard how she hid their bodies in makeshift tombs at the family home in Great Baddow in Essex, then told persistent lies to cover her tracks.
The court heard she cancelled family arrangements and frequently told doctors and relatives her parents were unwell, on holiday or away on lengthy trips.
But concerns over Mr and Mrs McCullough’s welfare were raised in September 2023 by a GP at their registered practice, and Essex County Council’s safeguarding team referred these to police.
The GP had not seen the couple for some time and said Mr McCullough had failed to collect medication and attend scheduled appointments. It was found McCullough had frequently cancelled appointments, using a range of excuses to explain her father’s absence.
Police said a missing persons investigation was initially launched and McCullough lied to officers, claiming her parents were travelling and would be returning in October.
It became a murder investigation, and when officers forced entry to the house in Pump Hill on September 15 2023, McCullough confessed that her parents’ bodies were in the house and that she had killed them.
Nicola Rice, a specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “McCullough callously and viciously killed both of her parents before concealing their bodies in makeshift tombs within their home address.
“She spent the next four years manipulating and lying to family members, medical staff, financial institutions, and the police, spending her parents’ money and accruing large debts in their name.”
She added: “This was a truly disturbing case, which has left behind it a trail of devastation, and I can only hope that the sentence passed today will help those who loved and cared for Lois and John begin to heal.”
To downplay the genocide, the israelis claim there’s only 20,000 people left in north Gaza, says
@MahaGaza
: the real number exceeds 400,000
Man of the right wing Nigel Farage taking more second jobs and freebie helicopter rides
Gosh he’ll soon be a true blue Tory at this rate
Or far far worse
The cost-of-living crisis is far from over, yet the government’s 50% increase to the bus fare cap is a political choice, adding hundreds to annual costs.
To address hardship & the climate crisis, the government must keep the £2 cap & make public transport accessible for all.
G20 waters down support for Ukraine amid pressure for peace talks
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November 23, 2024
8:25 am
Defense alliance NATO chief Mark Rutte has met US President-elect Donald Trump to discuss global security issues, according to a NATO spokesperson.
The meeting took place in Palm Beach, Florida.
During his first term as US president, 2017-2020, Trump pushed for European NATO countries to spend more on defense and described the alliance’s cost-sharing as unfair to the US.
Rutte took over as NATO chief from Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg in November.
Before taking office in January, Trump has nominated Pete Hegseth for the post of defense secretary, which has raised eyebrows among many allies.
Hegseth, 44, has served as an infantry captain in Iraq and Afghanistan, but has no senior military or government officer experience.
November 23, 2024
8:25 am
November 23, 2024
8:17 am
Multiple missiles were fired in an airstrike towards a densely populated part of Lebanon’s capital early on Saturday.
The huge airstrike targeted Beirut’s Basta neighbourhood, and no prior warnings were given by the Israeli military. The largely residential area was struck last month.
At least one violent explosion was heard across the city, Reuters witnesses said, and plumes of smoke could be seen. Scenes of massive destruction at the site were shared online, including a massive crater in the ground.
“Beirut, the capital, woke up to a horrific massacre, as the Israeli enemy’s air force completely destroyed an eight-story residential building with five missiles on Al-Mamoun Street in Basta,” the state-run National News Agency reported.
The health ministry put the initial death toll at four, with 23 wounded. The number is expected to climb in the coming hours as search and rescue efforts continue.
It came after a long day of Israeli airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, which have been non-stop since last week.
The cross-border fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group escalated into a full-blown war in mid-September.
Israel has bombed southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs and the eastern Beqaa region, and has sent ground troops across the border. Hezbollah has continued to fire rockets deeper into Israel.
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