No 10 says talks happening ‘at pace’ across government to get Maccabi fans ban lifted
Downing Street has said that discussions are happening “at pace, across government” to resolve the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending the Europa League match in Birmingham.
At the morning lobby briefing, a No 10 spokesperson told reporters:
Conversations began on this last night.
You will have seen the West Midlands police and crime commissioner has asked police and Birmingham’s safety advisory group to immediately review the decision.
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy is meeting officials to discuss what more can be done to try and find a way through to resolve this, and what more can be done to allow fans to attend the game safely.
The secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, Steve Reed, spoke to the local council this morning, and the Home Office is urgently working to support police to try and find a way through this.
You can expect to hear further updates today. I won’t pre-empt the conversations, but these are happening at pace, across government, with all the relevant groups to find a way to resolve this.
Share
Key events
Show key events only
Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
Afternoon summary
Polling on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans ban Photograph: YouGov
The Conservatives have welcomed a Times report saying Rachel Reeves plans to save around £1bn by making the Motability scheme, that subsidises cars for disabled people, less generous. In their story, Chris Smyth and Aubrey Allegretti say:
Tax breaks worth about £1 billion a year are set to be scrapped in the budget, dramatically reducing an exemption by which cars leased under the scheme do not have to pay VAT or insurance premium tax.
In another change being considered, BMWs, Mercedes and other luxury cars could be removed from a scheme that provides such premium brands to more than 40,000 benefits claimants.
In response, Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said:
The chancellor has followed our lead and said she’ll do something about Motability. I’m glad she’s been keeping an eye on our welfare announcements, but the government should be doing much more to fix welfare and reform the Motability scheme.
This week the BBC’s More or Less programme said some of the Tory claims about Motability have been misleading, or just wrong.
For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.
The Lib Dem leader Ed Davey and MP for Wokingham Clive Jones testing a raft on the lake at Dinton Activity Centre in Dinton Pastures today. Today the party is celebrating winning seven out of the 10 council byelections held yesterday. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PAShare
Updated at 18.36 CEST
Palestine Solidarity Campaign says Israeli teams should be banned from international competitions
Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, told Sky News that his organisation is due to take part in a “very large” protest about the Maccabi Tel Aviv match against Aston Villa going ahead. He said the PSC did not believe Israeli teams should be allowed in international competitions. He explained:
Why? Because of the widespread violations of international law, for two years, participation in what a UN commission of inquiry has judged to be a genocide, for 58 years overseeing an illegal military occupation, and what has been judged by numerous human rights bodies as apartheid.
There’s a precedent for this. Russia has been removed from sporting competitions because of its illegal occupation of Ukraine. And people with longer memories will remember the ban on South Africa participating in sport because of apartheid …
A further important point is that the Israeli Football Association is in direct violation of Fifa’s own statutes. There is a statute that says you cannot, effectively, have teams that belong to your football association conducting matches in another football association’s territory. The Israeli Football Association has six teams that play on illegally occupied Palestinian land. It’s a straightforward violation of Fifa’s own rules.
Jamal also said there was a particular problem with Maccabi fans too. He went on:
Their friends have a notorious history of racist violence and racist chanting. Most notoriousl, but they’ve done this for decades, they participated in a match in Amsterdam in which they rampaged through the city chanting grotesque, anti-Palestinian, racist slogans, including a slogan that said there are no schools in Gaza because we have to kill all of the children, attacked Muslim residents of the city.
On social media it is being pointed out that Keir Starmer himself spoke at a meeting in 2015 in front of a banner saying “Kick Israeli racism out of Fifa”. But when the Mail on Sunday ran a story about this a few years later, Labour said Starmer had never supported a sports boycott of Israel, or expelling the country from Fifa.
Share
Commons culture committee chair challenges West Midlands poolice to explain why it can’t keep Maccabi fans safe
Carline Dinenage, chair of the Commons culture committee, has released the text of a letter she has sent to the chief constable of West Midlands police asking for an explanation as to why it favours banning Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from the Aston Villa match. Dinenage said:
The move to prevent away fans from attending next month’s match at Villa Park is extremely concerning and is at odds with the principle that football in this country is for everyone. The police need to be open about how and why they reached the decision that a ban was the only way of guaranteeing public safety, and whether there is a route to reversing what is a deeply regrettable situation.
Caroline Dinenage’s letter to West Midlands chief constable Photograph: Culture committee
West Midlands police has already issued a statement saying its decision was based on “current intelligence and previous incidents, including violent clashes and hate crime offences that occurred during the 2024 UEFA Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel-Aviv in Amsterdam”.
But this statement does not explain whether the police view the main risk as being posed by the Maccabi fans themselves, or by those opposed to them being in the city, or whether it has simply concluded that clashes would be inevitable.
And the statement does not explain why the police could not adopt measures to manage the risk.
In a post on Bluesky, Sunder Katwala, director of the British Future thinktank, suggested some possible mitigation strategies.
I would not sell tickets, invite the club to bring 250 invited supporters, have significant restrictions on travel, police escorts for their safety and their conduct. (Eg “bubble” policing for Wrexham v Chester)
Have clear zones for legit anti-Israel politucs protest & police conduct at it
That is a more permissive approach than playing Besitkas v Maccabi in a closed stadium in Hungary, or banning the away fans of both Albania and Serbia. But it recognises the public order risk
Share
Badenoch’s satisfaction rating with Tory members soars by 32 points after party conference, survey suggests
Kemi Badenoch’s popularity with Conservative party members has soared following the party’s conference, according to a survey by ConservativeHome.
In its write-up, ConservativeHome, whose regular shadow cabinet league is seen as a reliable guide to how leading Tories are rated by members, says:
[Badenoch] has gone from fourth place at +28.3 [net satisfaction] before conference to a very close second place after a strong conference performance at + 60.0 – just behind shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick who tops both pre and post-conference tables, but only by +0.2 after the Tories’ time in Manchester.
Only five months ago Badenoch’s net satisfaction (those saying they are satisifed with her performance, minus those saying they aren’t) was zero.
Badenoch’s confident end-of-conference speech was much praised in Tory circles, but Badenoch also pleased party members with distinctive policy proposals such as leaving the European convention on human rights, slashing spending by £47bn a year, and abolishing stamp duty.
Badenoch’s approval resurrection with party members may kill off the prospect of a leadership challenge, at least until after next year’s local elections, and perhaps beyond that. Until recently it was widely assumed at Westminster that she was all but certain to be replaced.
Kemi Badenoch speaking at the Ronald Reagan statue re-dedication ceremony in Grosvenor Square, London, today. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PAShare
Ayoub Khan, independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, the constituency where the Europe League match will be taking place, has said that Keir Starmer was wrong to imply that West Midlands police were being antisemitic when they came out in favour of banning Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from the game.
Speaking to Times Radio, he said:
The argument must be deciphered. In terms of safety; football, hooligan and safety are the key points here, not faith. And we have this conflation, even by the prime minister, which is quite shocking, to conflate what the safety advisory committee decided along with West Midlands police. They’ve got serious concerns. And to label West Midlands police and this independent, impartial body as antisemitic is disgraceful.
Anyone watching the scenes out of Amsterdam in November of last year would have seen a vile racist chanting by Maccabi fans. And let’s not conflate this. It’s not about faith. It’s about those fans that have caused disorder. Amsterdam Council has ruled that Maccabi team is, and fans are not, allowed to come into that city.
Share
Tories say home secretary should use Police Act powers to get West Midlands force to ensure Maccabi fans can attend match
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, says the home secretary should use powers in the Police Act to order West Midlands police to ensure Maccabi Tel Aviv fans can attend the Europa League match. He has posted this on social media.
The Home Secretary shoud use powers in s40 of the Police Act 1996 to direct West Mids Police to protect Tel Aviv fans from any threat and allow them to attend the Aston Villa game
It is unacceptable to allow the threat of antisemitic mob violence to dictate who can or can’t attend a football match
That is unacceptable in any civilised country. Giving in to the threat of mob violence just encourages it further. Appeasement never works.
And he has posted this about section 40 of the Police Act.
Police Act explainer Photograph: Chris PhilpShare
Updated at 16.08 CEST
Ed Davey claims ‘blue wall crumbling’ after Lib Dems win 7 out of 10 council byelections
Yesterday there were 10 local council byelections, which is more than usual. And the Liberal Democrats are celebrating because they won seven of them.
Lib Dem holds
Four of the elections were in seats the Lib Dems were defending, and they held three of them. The Election Maps UK account has the results.
Whyteleafe (Tandridge) Council By-Election Result:
🔶 LDM: 44.9% (+14.2)
➡️ RFM: 26.7% (New)
🌳 CON: 9.9% (+0.4)
🌹 LAB: 9.7% (-1.7)
🌍 GRN: 8.8% (+3.6)
No Localist (-43.2) as previous.
Liberal Democrat HOLD.
Changes w/ 2024.
— Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) October 17, 2025
Caterham Valley (Surrey) Council By-Election Result:
🔶 LDM: 48.1% (+0.6)
➡️ RFM: 24.5% (New)
🌳 CON: 13.0% (-23.5)
🌍 GRN: 5.5% (New)
🏘️ CR: 5.3% (New)
🌹 LAB: 3.6% (-6.9)
No Ind (-5.5) as previous.
Liberal Democrat HOLD.
Changes w/ 2021.
— Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) October 17, 2025
Meadvale & St John’s (Reigate & Banstead) Council By-Election Result:
🔶 LDM: 48.3% (+11.7)
🌍 GRN: 17.6% (-0.5)
🌳 CON: 12.0% (-16.9)
➡️ RFM: 11.6% (New)
🙋 Ind: 10.4% (New)
No LAB (-16.3) as previous.
Liberal Democrat HOLD.
Changes w/ 2024.
— Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) October 17, 2025
Lib Dem gains
But the Lib Dems also gained four seats.
-one from Labour
Ashton (Preston) Council By-Election Result:
🔶 LDM: 37.3% (+15.8)
➡️ RFM: 25.9% (New)
🌹 LAB: 24.3% (-34.6)
🙋 Ind: 5.7% (New)
🌳 CON: 3.5% (-16.3)
🙋 Ind: 3.4% (New)
Liberal Democrat GAIN from Labour.
Changes w/ 2024.
— Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) October 16, 2025
-one from the Conservatives
Camberley West (Surrey) Council By-Election Result:
🔶 LDM: 49.5% (+16.6)
➡️ RFM: 25.9% (New)
🌳 CON: 20.4% (-28.8)
🌹 LAB: 4.3% (-11.4)
No WPB (-2.3) as previous.
Liberal Democrat GAIN from Conservative.
Changes w/ 2021.
— Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) October 17, 2025
-one from the Greens
Staines (Spelthorne) Council By-Election Result:
🔶 LDM: 37.9% (New)
➡️ RFM: 23.5% (New)
🙋 Ind: 12.3% (New)
🌳 CON: 10.9% (-4.7)
🌍 GRN: 7.7% (-27.8)
🌹 LAB: 7.4% (-17.1)
🧑🔧 TUSC: 0.4% (New)
No Ind (-27.4) as previous.
Liberal Democrat GAIN from Green.
Changes w/ 2023.
— Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) October 16, 2025
-and one from a local independent
Guildford South East (Surrey) Council By-Election Result:
🔶 LDM: 41.3% (+18.0)
🌳 CON: 22.8% (-8.1)
🏘️ RGV: 16.3% (-21.4)
➡️ RFM: 12.0% (New)
🌍 GRN: 5.0% (New)
🌹 LAB: 2.6% (-5.6)
Liberal Democrat GAIN from Localist.
Changes w/ 2021.
— Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) October 17, 2025
Conservative gain
The Tories gained one seat from Labour.
Broadheath (Trafford) Council By-Election Result:
🌳 CON: 36.8% (-4.4)
🌹 LAB: 22.3% (-19.0)
🔶 LDM: 19.2% (+14.9)
➡️ RFM: 16.5% (+11.2)
🌍 GRN: 4.7% (-1.9)
🙋 Ind: 0.5% (-0.8)
Conservative GAIN from Labour.
Changes w/ 2024.
— Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) October 17, 2025
Reform UK gain
Reform UK won one seat from the Lib Dems in Babergh in Suffolk.
Copdock & Washbrook (Babergh) Council By-Election Result:
➡️ RFM: 32.0% (New)
🔶 LDM: 28.9% (-27.5)
🌍 GRN: 23.6% (+9.5)
🌳 CON: 13.9% (-15.7)
🌹 LAB: 1.7% (New)
Reform GAIN from Liberal Democrat.
Changes w/ 2023.
— Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) October 16, 2025
Independent gain
And the SNP lost a seat to an independent.
Ayr North (South Ayrshire) Council By-Election Result [1st Prefs]:
🙋 Ind: 25.1% (New)
🎗️ SNP: 23.3% (-22.5)
🌹 LAB: 20.4% (-3.7)
➡️ RFM: 17.3% (New)
🌳 CON: 5.8% (-14.8)
🙋 Ind: 4.5% (New)
🔶 LDM: 2.2% (+0.5)
🙋 Ind: 1.5% (New)
Independent GAIN from SNP – Stage 8.
Changes w/…
— Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) October 16, 2025
The Liberal Democrats say their gains included one in Camberley in Surrey, in the Surrey Heath constituency that Michael Gove used to represent until the Lib Dems won it at the election, and one in Caterham, in the East Surrey constituency held by shadow energy secretary. Claire Coutinho.
The Conservatives have now lost their majority on Surrey county council.
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, said:
What remains of the blue wall is crumbling away. People across Surrey and beyond have voted for true community champions who will put them first.
The Liberal Democrats are winning against the Conservatives, but also Labour, Reform and the Greens.
Share
Updated at 15.59 CEST
UK Football Policing Unit says, if politicians want to overturn match policing decisions, they should change law
Paul MacInnes
Paul MacInnes is a Guardian reporter.
The UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) has said the government should change the law if it wishes to intervene on decisions related to the policing of football matches.
In a statement the UKFPU defended decisions taken by West Midlands police and the local safety advisory group (SAG) arguing “it is important that we respect and support the structures in place for making these decisions”. It also said the Home Office had been briefed about the likelihood of travelling supporters being banned last week.
The UKFPU say the government should introduce a new criteria of “events of national significance” should politicians desire the right to break out certain fixtures from traditional strategies for policing events. This was an idea first aired after the disorder that blighted the men’s European Championship final at Wembley in 2021.
The statement said:
In the wake of the Casey Review following the serious disorder at Wembley in 2021, [the UKFPU] has suggested that if the government want a role in regulating football events that could be termed ‘events of national significance’, then they need to bring forward legislation to formalise this to ensure accountability sits with decision-makers.
The UKFPU supported West Midlands police in gaining access to the full details of the previous incidents in Amsterdam via the European policing network so they had all the relevant information available to them.
Following this, the Home Office were briefed last week by the UKFPU about the potential issues and options that the safety advisory group (SAG) may take including restrictions on visiting fans.
The safety advisory group is made up of independent bodies who make recommendations to the licensing authorities and the priority is always the safety of those attending matches and the wider public. This process was supported by the Sports Ground Safety Authority. It is important that we respect and support the structures in place for making these decisions. If there are any adverse incidents, then they are the ones that will be held responsible.
Share
Updated at 15.22 CEST
It is understood the Community Security Trust, which provides protection for Jewish communities in the UK, had advised police that the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans would be seen as antisemitic, PA Media reports. PA says:
West Midlands police is believed to have contacted the CST last week to ask how they thought the Jewish community might react to a ban on Israeli fans attending the football match.
The trust is understood to have advised that the community would likely be angry and upset and that the ban would widely be seen as antisemitic.
While the CST provides security advice and equipment to Jewish schools, organisations and synagogues across the UK, it does not have involvement in security or policing of football matches.
Share
Birmingham’s safety advisory group says it will review Maccabi fans ban if police change risk assessment
The decision to stop Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending the Europa League match in Birmingham was taken by Birmingham city council’s safety advisory group, based on advice from the West Midlands police.
According to the BBC, the safety advisory group has put out a statement saying it will reconsider its decision – if the police change the risk assessment.
The SAG said:
The safety advisory group has made a decision based on a risk assessment provided by West Midlands Police.
If there is a change in the assessment of risk in the forthcoming match between Aston Villa football club and Maccabi Tel Aviv, then the safety advisory group will commit to review its decision as appropriate.
ShareKemi Badenoch speaking at a ceremony today to rededicate the Ronald Reagan statue in Grosvenor Square, London. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PAShare
Updated at 14.57 CEST
US Congress committee says collapse of spy trial could signal ‘broader shift in China policy of deep concern to UK’s allies’
A US House of Representatives’ committee on the Chinese Communist party has written to the acting British ambassador saying that the UK’s decision to drop the China spy prosecutions risks “establishing a dangerous precedent that foreign adversaries can target democraticaly-elected legislators with impunity”.
The committee also suggests the move could be part of “a broader shift in China policy that would be of deep concern to many of the UK’s core allies”.
Tim Shipman has posted the leter in full here.
Kemi Badenoch told reporters today that this confirmed her view that Keir Starmer was “being weak, kowtowing to China”.
She said:
I think the fact that the US has taken it upon itself to write on this issue and talk about its concerns about the collapse of this spy case show that many people internationally are wondering what the Labour government is doing. They are not looking after national security enough.
Kemi Badenoch. Photograph: Frank Augstein/APShare
The Campaign Against Antisemitism says it has written to Birmingham city council and the West Midlands police saying it will seek a judicial review of the decision not to allow Maccabi Tel Aviv fans to attend the Europa League match. “We will do whatever it takes to overturn this pernicious ban which has humiliated and angered the whole country,” it says in a statement, which does not give details of the grounds it would use for a JR application.
Share
Sundus Abdi
Sundus Abdi is a Guardian reporter.
Groups including Youth Front for Palestine, Game Over Israel, and Football Against Apartheid have praised the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending the Europa League match as a “victory for Palestine”, crediting “popular pressure” and “direct action” by activists in Birmingham and across the UK.
In a joint statement, the campaigners said the decision shows the power of coordinated protest. “This victory is a clear example of pressure working, of the importance of action and unity in fighting against the Zionist entity,” it read. They are now calling for the match itself to be cancelled, saying that Israel’s participation in UEFA “normalises the genocide”. “Genociders are not welcome in our cities”, the post said.
In a video posted last month, Birmingham and Manchester-based group Youth Front for Palestine led a protest outside Aston Villa football club, where fans joined chants of “Free Palestine”. Demonstrators cited the killing of Palestinian footballer Suleiman Obeid, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike while waiting for humanitarian aid.
Share
No 10 says Starmer ‘perfectly entitled’ to criticise police operational decision in defence of ‘principles of fairness’
At the Downing Street lobby briefing this morning, the No 10 spokeperson also defended Keir Starmer’s decision to speak out on the Maccabi Tel Aviv match ban – even though it is an operational matter for the police.
The spokesperson said:
The prime minister will do everything in his power to give Jewish communities the security they deserve and, as he has made clear, we think this is the wrong decision.
Like everyone seeing this news, the PM has been angered by the decision.
Football has been a unifying force for decades and everyone should be able to attend a football match without fear of violence or intimidation regardless of their religion, nationality or background.
We should not have a country where we have to tell people to stay away from certain events because we cannot protect them, or they may be a victim of racism.
This government will do everything in its power to heal society and tackle divisions. We want a Britain built for all and we will never tolerate antisemitism on the streets.
While of course this is an operational decision, we are perfectly entitled to speak out on fundamental principles of fairness like this.
Share
Legal challenge to Palestine Action ban can go ahead, court rules
A legal challenge to the ban on Palestine Action can go ahead next month after the court of appeal rejected the Home Office’s attempt to block the case, Haroon Siddique reports.
Share
No 10 says talks happening ‘at pace’ across government to get Maccabi fans ban lifted
Downing Street has said that discussions are happening “at pace, across government” to resolve the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending the Europa League match in Birmingham.
At the morning lobby briefing, a No 10 spokesperson told reporters:
Conversations began on this last night.
You will have seen the West Midlands police and crime commissioner has asked police and Birmingham’s safety advisory group to immediately review the decision.
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy is meeting officials to discuss what more can be done to try and find a way through to resolve this, and what more can be done to allow fans to attend the game safely.
The secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, Steve Reed, spoke to the local council this morning, and the Home Office is urgently working to support police to try and find a way through this.
You can expect to hear further updates today. I won’t pre-empt the conversations, but these are happening at pace, across government, with all the relevant groups to find a way to resolve this.
Share
PM’s opposition to Maccabi ban shows he’s willing to tolerate ‘racist incitement’, Palestine Solidarity Campaign claims
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign has backed the decision to stop Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending the Europa League match. In a series of posts on social media, including video clips, it says the Maccabi fans have “a track record of committing racist violence”.
Starmer’s criticism of the ban shows that he expects Birmingham residents to tolerate racist incitement, and expects police to provide cover for it. He has no regard for Palestinian safety, whether in Palestine or here in Britain. This is blatant anti-Palestinian racism. (3/9)
But the PSC is also calling for the match to be cancelled. Like the Green party (see 11.24am), it says Israeli teams to be banned from international sports events.
Allowing Israeli football teams to compete in international competitions sanitises its horrific atrocities against Palestinians, and allows Israel to cynically present itself as a normal country, obscuring the truth of its oppression of Palestinians. (6/9)
Israeli football cannot be separated from Israel’s apartheid regime. The Israel Football Association contains at least 6 football clubs in illegal Israeli settlements based on land stolen from Palestinians. (7/9)
Palestinians have long demanded that international sporting bodies ban Israel from membership, just as was done to apartheid South Africa. This call is growing in momentum. But UEFA and FIFA still refuse to act. (8/9)
Share
Updated at 13.40 CEST
Labour describes Farage’s latest Russia comments as desperate attempt to ‘backtrack’ from pro-Putin record
Labour has accused Nigel Farage of “desperately trying to backtrack” from his previous relatively pro-Putin stance in an interview where he said Russian jets in Nato airspace should be shot down.
Farage made the comment in a long interview on Bloomberg’s The Mishal Husain Show in which he was more critical of the Russian president than he has been in the past. With Reform UK well ahead of all other parties in opinion polls, Labour views Farage’s stance on Russia as a weakness.
Farage has in the past said he admires Vladimir Putin for his effectiveness. He has always been less critical of Putin than most mainstream European politicians, and recently Reform UK’s former leader in Wales, Nathan Gill, pleaded guilty to taking bribes in return for making pro-Russia statements in the European parliament.
Farage told Bloomberg: “The idea that I’m soft on [Russia] is just nonsense.”
He said that he was in favour of using frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine and he said, if he were to become PM, he might even deploy British troops to Ukraine as part of a UN peacekeeping force.
Asked what he would do if Russian jets entered allied airspace, he replied: “Gotta shoot them down.”
He also said:
Obviously, Putin is a very bad dude. I was really hoping that [Donald] Trump would bring Putin to heel, that some kind of compromise could be struck, as it’s just been recently struck with Gaza and Israel. Clearly, that is not going to happen.
Asked about Gill’s conviction, Farage called him a “bad apple”. He also said he was sure “without any shadow of a doubt” that Gill was the only Reform UK politician taking bribes to speak up for Russia. “I believe, 100%, with all my heart, there’s nobody else,” he said.
Commenting on the interview, Anna Turley, the Labour chair, said:
Having called Vladimir Putin the leader he most admired, and with his close associate and former Reform Leader in Wales having admitted taking bribes to praise Russia, Nigel Farage is now panicking and desperately trying to backtrack. But he can’t help himself.
Turley also pointed out that in the Bloomberg interview Farage repeated his claim that the “the endless eastward expansion of Nato and the European Union” contributed to Putin’s decision to invade Russia.
Turley said:
He’s still peddling the Russian line on their illegal invasion of Ukraine being the fault of the West. That’s not true, and it shows Reform can’t be trusted to stand up for our national security or for our Ukrainian allies. Putin doesn’t have to pay Nigel Farage to spout Russian talking points – he does it for free.
Share
China threatens UK with ‘consequences’ over delayed London mega embassy
Tensions between Britain and China have escalated after Beijing criticised further delays to a planning decision on its proposed “mega embassy” in London, Kiran Stacey reports.
Share
I have updated the post at 9.31am to remove the comment saying Femke Halsema, mayor of Amsterdam, described the attacks on Maccabi supporters at the Europa League match in the city last November as reviving memories of “pogroms” because she later withdrew that comment, saying it had been exploited as propaganda.
Share
Green party calls for all Israeli teams to be banned from international competitions because of events in Gaza
The Green party has issued a statement on the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans ban, in a comment from its co-deputy leader, Mothin Ali, a Leeds councillor.
He has criticised Keir Starmer for trying to over-rule an operatational decision taken by the police. Ali said:
Everyone should be able to feel safe when they attend a football match, that’s non-negotiable. It’s irresponsible for Keir Starmer to question a safety decision of a local authority, especially when he is responsible for their chronic underfunding.
Ali went on to implicitly defend the plan, but he also went much further – saying all Israeli teams should be banned from international competitions because of what is happening in Gaza. He said:
Under normal circumstances, supporters from across the fanbase should be allowed to attend and provision taken to ban violent elements such as The Ultras. But these are not normal circumstances: these games are taking place in the context of thousands of civilians being killed in Gaza, the illegal occupation of Palestinian land, and the upholding of a system of apartheid.
This raises serious moral questions for the UK, UEFA, and the wider football community. We need a sporting and cultural boycott of all Israeli teams, like we saw for South African teams under apartheid. International sporting bodies can and must take a stand when basic human rights are being violated.
Football should be a force for peace and justice, not a tool to sportwash atrocities.
Share
Updated at 13.39 CEST
Zarah Sultana, the former Labour MP who is now a member of the Independent Alliance in parliament, alongside Ayoub Khan and four others, has also defended the Maccabi ban on the grounds that Israeli teams should not be competing in international sport. She says:
Next UEFA must ban all Israeli teams.
We cannot have normalisation with genocide and apartheid.
Apartheid South Africa was banned from the Olympics for 32 years.
The same people who called Nelson Mandela a “terrorist” now say we can’t boycott apartheid Israel.
They were on the wrong side of history then — and they’re on the wrong side of history now.
You don’t have “normal relations” with genocide and apartheid.
Boycott, divestment and sanctions until Palestine is free.
Share
In an interview with Newsnight last night, Ayoub Khan, MP for Birmingham Perry Barr who has welcomed the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending the match (and who campaigned get the whole event cancelled, or at least relocated or held behind closed doors – see 8.46am), claimed that Maccabi supporters were “violent fans”, on the basis of what happened in Amsterdam last year. But he said safety was only one reason why he did not want them in the city.
There are two distinct issues. One is the safety aspect … If the police in West Midlands find it challenging because they simply do not have the resources to ensure safety, then that’s one aspect.
The second aspect is a moral argument that Maccabi Tel Aviv should not even be playing in this international competition.
Khan said, given Russian teams are banned from competing in international sport because of the attack on Ukraine, a similar rule should apply to Israeli teams because a UN commission has found that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.
Ayoub Khan, MP for Birmingham Perry Barr Photograph: BBCShare
Updated at 12.56 CEST
Where have other fans being banned from travelling to attend matches?
Paul MacInnes
Paul MacInnes is a Guardian reporter.
The decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from the fixture at Villa Park comes amidst a growing number of interventions across European football to prevent supporters from travelling.
Already this season supporters of Dutch side Ajax and the German club Eintracht Frankfurt have been told not to travel to Marseille and Naples respectively after local officials intervened on grounds of safety.
Last season, in January of this year, police arrested 17 Dutch fans at the border after the French interior ministry banned Feyenoord fans from travelling to their Champions League tie in Lille.
Uefa, the governing body of European football, does not involve itself in security decisions taken with relation to individual fixtures. “The competent local authorities remain responsible for decisions related to the safety and security of matches taking place on their territory”, A Uefa statement said.
Uefa does, however, regularly hand out sanctions for breaches of their own rules related to disorder that would prevent away fans from travelling.
In the past year Ferencvaros, Levski Sofia, FSV Mainz, Brondby, Malmo, Raków Częstochowa and Glasgow Rangers are amongst the clubs to have received such punishments, often for the deployment of fireworks at matches. In each of these punishments, however, the sanction was suspended for a period of two years.
Share
Freed British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari says Maccabi ban shows ‘blatant antisemitism has become norm’
Emily Damari, the British-Israeli woman who was held hostage by Hamas for more than 15 months after the 7 October massacre and released in January, has issued a statement strongly condemning the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending the Europa League match. She says, as a Maccabi fan, she is personally affected.
She says:
I am shocked to my core with this outrageous decision to ban me, my family and my friends from attending an Aston Villa game in the UK.
Football is a way of bringing people together irrespective of their faith, colour or religion and this disgusting decision does the exact opposite.
Shame on you. I hope you come to your senses and reconsider.
do wonder what exactly has become of UK society. This is like putting a big sign on the outside of a stadium saying: “No Jews allowed.”
What has become of the UK where blatant antisemitism has become the norm? What a sad world we are living in.
Emily Damari with her mother Mandy after her release in January. Photograph: Israel Defense Forces/ReutersShare
West Midlands police commissioner calls for review of whether Maccabi fans ban ‘reasonable and proportionate’
Simon Foster, the Labour West Midlands police and crime commissioner, has called for a review of the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending the match.
In a lengthy statement, he says:
I have today requested, Birmingham City Council Safety Advisory Group (‘SAG’) and West Midlands Police (‘WMP’), convene a Special SAG, at the earliest possible opportunity and conduct an immediate review of the decision, to prohibit the attendance of away fans at the football match, between Aston Villa FC v Maccabi Tel Aviv FC, on Thursday 6 November.
The purpose of my request for a review, is to enable the SAG and WMP to determine, whether or not this decision and recommendation is appropriate, necessary, justified, reasonable and a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. That must include consideration, of all and any suitable, alternative options.
Foster says he wants an assurance that the decision is “appropriate, necessary, justified, reasonable and proportionate” and that an alternative solution is not possible.
But he also says that ultimately this is a matter for the council’s SAG and the operational judgment of the police.
And he says “the safety and security of all the people and communities of the West Midlands, including visitors to the West Midlands,” is his top priority.
Share
Updated at 13.39 CEST
How West Midlands police defends its support for ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending match
Here is the full statement from West Midlands police explaining why it wants Maccabi Tel Aviv fans to be banned from attending the Europa League match.
West Midlands Police has a strong track record of successfully policing football matches and other high-risk public events.
We are committed to delivering fair and impartial policing, while balancing the public’s right to protest with our duty to ensure public safety.
Following a thorough assessment, we have classified the upcoming Aston Villa vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv fixture as high risk.
We have actively engaged with a wide range of local partners and community representatives in preparation for this fixture, and continue to participate in the Safety Advisory Group.
While the Safety Certificate is issued by Birmingham City Council, West Midlands Police supports the decision to prohibit away supporters from attending.
This decision is based on current intelligence and previous incidents, including violent clashes and hate crime offences that occurred during the 2024 UEFA Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel-Aviv in Amsterdam.
Based on our professional judgement, we believe this measure will help mitigate risks to public safety.
We remain steadfast in our support all affected communities, and reaffirm our zero-tolerance stance on hate crime in all its forms.
Share
Israeli foreign minister calls match ban for Maccabi Tel Aviv fans ‘shameful’
Gideon Sa’ar, the Israeli foreign minister, has described the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from the Europa League match in Birmingham as “shameful” and urged the UK authorities to reverse it.
Share
‘People ask, what does antisemitism look like?’ – Maccabi chief executive says match ban sends worrying message about UK
Jack Angelides, chief executive of Maccabi Tel Aviv, told the Today programme that he would have expected more than 1,000 fans to attend the Europa League match in Birmingham.
He said he felt some “dismay” about the decision the ban on his team’s supporters attending. He explained:
I do think this is an extremely important moment because of what it signifies.
I don’t use this term lightly but people ask ‘what does antisemitism look like?’ And it’s often manifested as part of a process, a process, in other words, small events leading up to something that’s more sinister.
Angelides also said there are fans of the club living in Britain, “and they’re being told that in their own country it is not safe for them to come to watch a football match”.
He said that the team had played matches in countries like Turkey, where there is a lot of anti-Israeli sentiment, where the police could ensure there were no problem. “So I do find it somewhat difficult why this has come to pass” he said.
[This] also begs the question a little bit to be honest – well, there is a delegation coming of management, of players, and all the supporting staff, are we saying that they will be secure also or that there are issues with them?
Asked if he felt they would be secure, Angelides said he trusted the authorities and has not heard anything suggestion they would be at risk.
Share
Andrew Fox, honorary president of Aston Villa’s Jewish Villans supporters’ club, told the Today programme this morning that the decision to stop Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending the Europa League match in Birmingham sent a “really worrying message” about British society.
He said:
It’s obviously about much wider issues surrounding the Gaza war, and that sends a really worrying message about British society – that we aren’t civilised enough to have a debate over this without it descending into football violence or violent attacks on fans who are coming from another country just because we disagree with that country’s policies. It just makes a very febrile political situation worse I think.
He also dismissed suggestions that Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were likely to engage in violence.
There’s no evidence of Maccabi’s fans being particularly violent. They don’t have a track record in all of their previous European games of having a violent fan group. So really this is a political message rather than a safety message.
The police have cited what happened when Maccabi fans attended a Europa League match in Amsterdam in November last year as being one reason why they should not attend the Birmingham match. The rioting that took place around the Amsterdam match included attacks on the Israeli fans. But the Maccabi supporters were also accused of provocative behaviour, such as pulling down a Palestinian flag and chanting “we will fuck the Arabs”. This is what Jon Henley wrote at the time explaining what happened.
UPDATE: I have updated this post to remove the comment saying Femke Halsema, mayor of Amsterdam, described the attacks on Maccabi supporters as reviving memories of “pogroms” because she later withdrew that comment, saying it had been exploited as propaganda.
Share
Updated at 12.30 CEST
Ministers to explore reversing ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending UK match after PM’s criticism
Good morning. Yesterday it emerged that fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv will not be allowed to attend the Europa League match at Aston Villa on 6 November owing to safety concerns. The decision was taken by Birmingham’s safety advisory group, based on advice from the West Midlands police, who said the match would be “high risk” based on “current intelligence and previous incidents, including violent clashes and hate crime offences that occurred during the 2024 Uefa Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam”. There is more on the announcement here.
The decision prompted widespread condemnation from political leaders. Keir Starmer said:
This is the wrong decision.
We will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets.
The role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation.
Kemi Badenoch went further, saying:
This is a national disgrace.
How have things come to this?
Starmer pledged that Jews are welcome and safe in Britain. That he stands shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish community and will use the full force of his government to prove it.
Will he back those words with action and guarantee that Jewish fans can walk into any football stadium in this country?
If not, it sends a horrendous and shameful message: there are parts of Britain where Jews simply cannot go.
And Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, said:
A serious mistake by WM Police. You don’t tackle antisemitism by banning its victims. This decision must be reversed.
And Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said: “This takes racial discrimination to a whole new level.”
But the decision has been welcomed by Ayoub Khan, the MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, the constituency where the match will take place. He organised a petition calling for the match to be either cancelled, relocated or held behind closed doors and last night he put out a statement saying:
From the moment that the match was announced, it was clear that there were latent safety risks that even our capable security and police authorities would not be able to fully manage.
With so much hostility and uncertainty around the match, it was only right to take drastic measures.
Khan is one of the five independent MPs elected at the last election wholly or partly because of their outright opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza and his petition suggests that his opposition to the match going ahead is motivated as much by the desire to make a political point about Israel’s conduct as by concerns about the risk of violence. The petition cites three reasons why the match should not go ahead. One is the “track record of violence by Maccabi Tel Aviv fans”, but the others are the “ongoing genocide in Gaza” and the “wider European context”. The petition says:
As Israel continues its assault on Gaza, killing thousands and devastating civilian infrastructure, sporting fixtures involving Israeli teams cannot be separated from the wider political context. Hosting such teams sends a message of normalisation and indifference to mass atrocities.
The petition has been signed by Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, who is another of the independent MPs in the Independent Alliance. Another MP in that group, Iqbal Mohamed, has welcomed the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans on claiming the police have “put the safety of Aston Villa fans, Birmingham residents and the British public above the zionist and political pressure to let Israeli hooligans and terrorists run riot in our country”.
Will the decision stand? Perhaps not. This morning Ian Murray, the culture secretary, said ministers will be trying to see if there is a way of ensuring that Maccabi Tel Aviv fans can attend the match. He told Sky News:
[The decision is] just completely and utterly unacceptable, and the prime minister has said we will do everything we possibly can to resolve this issue.
It’s an operational issue for the police, and government doesn’t get involved in operational issues for the police.
But I know the culture secretary [Lisa Nandy] will be meeting with the Home Office and other stakeholders today to try and see if there’s a way through this.
I will post more on this shortly.
The Commons is not sitting today, but here are the things we are expecting.
9.30am: The ONS publishes figures for drug-related deaths in England and Wales.
9.35am: Ofsted chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver speaks at the Confederation of School Trusts annual conference.
Morning: Kemi Badenoch is on a visit in London.
Morning: Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, is on a visit in Wokingham.
Morning: Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, is making an announcement about air quality.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (normally between 10am and 3pm BST at the moment), or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.
If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.
I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
Share
Updated at 10.46 CEST
