MPs who criticised the ban on Maccabi fans attending an Aston Villa game in a parliamentary debate last week should have disclosed their links to Israeli lobby groups, a leading Jewish campaigner said today.

A Birmingham council-led safety group decided the reportedly violent fans would not be allowed to attend the fixture in November after receiving West Midlands Police intelligence that included false claims generated by AI.

Then chief constable Craig Guildford was forced to step down and retire with immediate effect after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood withdrew her confidence in him.

An interim report by Chief Inspector of the Constabulary Sir Andy Cooke had found police subject to a “confirmation bias” in their assessments.

Today Jewish Voice for Liberation (JVL) secretary Jenny Manson hit out at MPs who last Monday backed claims by the home affairs select committee over the ban.

She accused the committee’s report of being the “most blatant example I have seen of Muslim fears being dismissed and indeed criticised” after it cited the attendance of councillors with a “stated political aim” that had a “disproportionate opportunity to influence” the safety advisory group’s decision-making.

Conservative MP Nigel Huddleston responded in the Commons that he agreed with all of its recommendations — but did not mention £4,500 he received from the Conservative Friends of Israel for a trip to Israel last year.

DUP’s Jim Shannon said: “Sport is always a method of bringing people together, but on this occasion it failed miserably as a result of the conduct of certain police elements that distorted the occasion of a Maccabi Tel Aviv football match.”

He did not mention his ELNET UK-funded visit to Israel in April 2024. Both MPs were contacted for comment.