Chief constable's reappointment approved

The former chief constable of West Midlands Police will be reappointed to the role.

Craig Guildford stepped down on 15 November, but had applied to take up his former role again under the retire and-rejoin scheme, in order to protect his pension from diminishing in value.

The West Midlands Police and Crime Panel approved his reappointment at a hearing on Monday.

Mr Guildford will rejoin the force as chief constable on 16 December, following 31 days of retirement, the region's police and crime commissioner (PCC) confirmed.

In a statement, Mr Guildford said he remained fully committed to delivering "sustained performance improvements" at the force.

"I'm pleased that the police and crime commissioner and the region's Police and Crime Panel have offered me their full support and allowed me to continue to serve as your chief constable in the West Midlands," added Mr Guildford.

"My ambition is to see West Midlands Police continue to improve at the pace it has been."

The countrywide retire and re-join scheme allows any officer to resign and take a break of at least one month, before being reappointed at the same rank.

The chief constable's reappointment follows allegations of widespread racism and homophobia within the force from a former chief inspector, who claimed it failed to act over multiple serious allegations.

Khizra Bano, who is taking Mr Guildford to an employment tribunal, told the BBC she was "devastated" on behalf of both the public and the police force by the reappointment.

Mr Guildford denies all the allegations, with the force stating it had made significant progress in "rooting out" improper behaviour and it would defend itself against any unfair allegations of discrimination.

Ms Bano told the BBC she personally attended the panel to "furnish them with information that should have prevented them making such a societally damaging decision."

West Midlands PCC Simon Foster said he was pleased the panel had approved Mr Guildford's reappointment to the role and that the force had "improved in many areas," since the chief constable was first appointed in 2022.

"West Midlands Police, whilst under the leadership of Mr Guildford, together with partners, has driven down crime by 10% in the last year. Specifically, robbery is down, burglary is down, car theft is down and youth violence is down," he said.

"Mr Guildford knows I expect this progress and hard work to be maintained and I look forward to continuing to work with him."

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