Lisa Nandy

Given the chilling effect that this has had on the Jewish community in particular, and on everybody who needs to have trust in our police services across the country, I want to be crystal clear on this point. I have looked into the concerns that the shadow Secretary of State has raised about whether DMCS officials were aware of the decision in advance. We were working on the instruction that the match was still supposed to go ahead. That was on the basis of advice from the SAG. I would be happy to outline that in further detail to him. It is absolutely not correct to say that DCMS officials were made aware that a ban was going to take place. I have to say to him, on a personal level, that if that had been the case, I would make sure that people were held accountable for it. On the wider issue of what has unfolded over recent days, I want to reiterate that having watched West Midlands police contradict me, the Government and its own evidence in public over recent months, and having seen all that laid bare in a report that the Home Secretary brought to the House yesterday, I believe it is astonishing that the chief constable remains in post. I hope that he will seriously reflect on his position.