Speeches by White.

“We understand that they are filmed, and it would be helpful for us to have a better picture if you could send us the films.”

“You are taking account of the threat perspective. You have circulated in the public domain a redacted account of what you thought the threat perspective is. I want to question why you redacted that when it says that the threat to the local Jewish community is medium, Muslim community low, Christian community low, black…”

“The police did not inform you of the potential threat to Israeli fans by armed groups.”

“There is a complete absence of the intelligence provided by the police, so that we, as House Members, have been unable to gain a true picture of exactly what was discussed. These minutes are now out in the public arena, so the whole of the country will be studying them. What is being recorded here, we understand now, i…”

“In my view, it is not. We are getting an inaccurate picture and understanding of what was agreed at that meeting.”

“Would you agree with me that these are a really poor set of minutes? First, there is no data regarding the information coming from the police. Secondly, the only opinions that are recorded are those of councillors who are opposed to fans coming to Aston Villa and repeating concerns that the “community want it stopped”.…”

“All I can understand is that two councillors agreed that the away fans should not be in attendance. From my understanding of the minutes, this is pressure that has come from two councillors, rather than intelligence that has been provided by the police. We have here a biased set of minutes that are inaccurate and givin…”

“I know, Councillor Cotton, that you are concerned about the reputational damage that it has done to your city. Also, I am sure you are concerned about the risk that is now faced by people in the Jewish community. Birmingham University has the largest JSoc in the country. What threat does this pose to them now that this…”

“You said that you suddenly had to become very knowledgeable about SAGs and the decision-making process around the Maccabi Tel Aviv match. What police intelligence were you provided with as part of that briefing?”

“I am surprised. I have served as a councillor for many years at senior level and the security of my community is a No. 1 priority. If any intelligence had come through from any committee, at a senior level, we would have been working very closely with the police to manage that.”

“The police earlier reported that they had picked up, through different inquiries, that there were proposals for people to arm themselves and attack the Israeli fans should they come to the city of Birmingham. Was that fed up to the highest level of the authority? That is a serious safety concern that you, as an authori…”

“I am a member of Labour Friends of Israel and Labour Friends of Palestine, but I have also been for 40 years the spouse of Lord Mann, who is the Government’s independent unpaid adviser on antisemitism.”

“Mr Wilkinson, you attended the SAG meetings, but there are no minutes of what you said at them. Can you report to this meeting what you advised the SAG committee meetings?”

“What was your recommendation at the first SAG committee?”

“It may well be that a recommendation that comes out of this report is around how these issues are managed. We are getting the security and safety of football grounds muddled up with fans and who attends, et cetera. They should be entirely different decision-making processes.”

“From both sides, including Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, and also the threats to harm Israeli fans.”

“I want to come in on the accuracy of your reporting. In the SAG minutes of 16 October there was a discussion about the risk in reference to the different football fans. When talking about the Maccabi fan base, incidents in Italy, Norway and Holland were referenced, but none of these incidents involved Maccabi fans. For…”

“Yes, I asked a question about why you were using a different instance of football violence where Israelis were involved as a way to highlight the threat that Maccabi Tel Aviv fans posed to the community.”

“We are diverting, but this is about the overarching way in which football is managed. It is a responsibility of DCMS and the Home Office, and now you are talking about the FCDO.”

“Thank you for coming. Were you in the audience for the previous questioning?”