UK police admit Microsoft Copilot 'mistake' that banned football fans from a match

UK’s West Midlands police chief Craig Guildford has apologised to MPs for providing incorrect evidence about banning Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans. He apologised and revealed that the error was caused by a report generated by Microsoft's Copilot AI tool, rather than human research as previously claimed. In a recent email, Guildford told the Home Affairs Select Committee that the inclusion of a fictitious match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and West Ham in police intelligence "arose as a result of a use of Microsoft Copilot."The admission contradicts the chief constable's previous testimony to MPs that the police force did not use AI. He noted that the mistake regarding the West Ham match, which had never taken place and was created by the AI tool for “one individual doing one Google search.” The police then used these details to deny Maccabi Tel Aviv fans entry to the game against Aston Villa last year.In his email to the Home Affairs Select Committee, Guildford said he wanted to give his "profound apology" for the error.“I had understood and been advised that the match had been identified by way of a Google search in preparation for attending HAC. My belief that this was the case was honestly held, and there was no intention to mislead the committee,” the letter (as seen by Business Insider) read.The apology comes as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood prepares to make a statement to MPs about the findings of a police inspection report. Recently, Mahmood told the UK Parliament that she had lost confidence in Guildford.The police report examined the decision to prevent Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending a UEFA Europa League match against Aston Villa in November 2025. This decision sparked widespread criticism that reached UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The fake West Ham match was among the information shown to the security group, which decided to ban away fans.According to the BBC, more than 700 police officers were sent to work at the game. Several protests happened outside the stadium. In November 2025, West Midlands Police said they had labelled the Aston Villa match as “high risk.”In an October statement, the police force had said their decision was based on “current intelligence and previous incidents, including violent clashes and hate crime offences” that happened during a different game involving Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam the year before.As Israel's oldest soccer team, Maccabi Tel Aviv has spent decades trying to reach the top levels of European soccer. The Europa League is UEFA's second-highest level of competition for teams from across Europe, behind the Champions League.Meanwhile, Microsoft said it could not achieve the same results as the department reported in Guildford. In a statement to Business Insider, the spokesperson said, “Copilot combines information from multiple web sources into a single response with linked citations. It informs users they are interacting with an AI system and encourages them to review the sources.”