Currently, only police and crime commissioners have powers to dismiss chief constables, but Mahmood told Kuenssberg it was vital ministers be allowed to act in situations when things had gone “horribly wrong”.
Guildford has been replaced by Acting Chief Constable Scott Green who said earlier this month that actions by West Midlands Police in the lead-up to the ban had damaged public trust in the force and its relationship with Jewish communities.
The force had been tasked with assessing security risks prior to Maccabi’s Europa League tie against Aston Villa in Birmingham last year. But a preliminary review of that process by the police watchdog found “confirmation bias” had influenced the controversial decision to bar travelling support from attending Villa Park.
Several “inaccuracies” were also found to have been included in a police report ahead of the match, including reference to a non-existent fixture between Maccabi Tel Aviv and West Ham.
On the programme, Mahmood, Labour member for Birmingham Ladywood, said West Midlands Police was her local force, telling Kuenssberg “if you can’t trust an operational risk assessment made by police I think that is something that costs a lot of confidence in policing our country”.
Mahmood had previously told the Commons she had lost her confidence in Guildford, with Downing Street issuing a similar statement.