'The Aston Villa police fan ban saga teaches us we must never dodge uncomfortable issues' - Academic Roshan Doug's stark warning

In a region as diverse as ours, it can sometimes feel as though raising difficult questions risks derailing the discussion altogether. That sense of caution shaped how I approached the issue at the time. 

Since then, events have shifted the context. The resignation of West Midlands’ Chief Constable Craig Guildford last week – alongside his own reflections on the use of flawed intelligence and the pressures surrounding sensitive policing decisions – has reopened an important local debate. It has prompted many people across the West Midlands to ask whether public authorities are sometimes making decisions shaped as much by fear of controversy as by evidence and public interest.

For years, our institutions have placed understandable emphasis on ‘community cohesion’. Police forces, councils, schools, social services and other public bodies have worked hard to prevent tensions from escalating. In areas with a long history of diversity, that instinct is natural and necessary.

However, there are moments when caution can drift into avoidance. When difficult issues are repeatedly sidestepped, public confidence begins to erode. People wonder whether uncomfortable truths are being softened or delayed to avoid upsetting particular groups.

Birmingham, in particular, has been here before. The 2015 Trojan Horse report examined attempts by Islamist activists to influence the governance and ethos of more than 27 state schools in the city. 

Teachers and governors raised concerns long before the issue reached national attention, yet many felt those warnings were initially minimised. The report did not condemn whole communities, but it did (as I, along with other policy makers, pointed out in the media at the time) underline the risks of failing to act decisively when secular education and safeguarding principles are challenged.

This is not an argument against cultural sensitivity. In regions such as ours diversity is one of our strengths, and respectful engagement across communities matters. But sensitivity should not mean silence. There must be room for open, measured discussion about behaviours or pressures that affect public institutions and wider society.

The grooming gangs scandal elsewhere in the country offers a sobering reminder of what can happen when authorities hesitate. In places such as Telford and Rochdale, vulnerable girls were failed over decades, partly because officials feared how intervention might be perceived. The consequences of that hesitation were devastating and long-lasting.

Reports the government may revisit aspects of those investigations suggest a recognition that lessons still need to be learned. If so, it should encourage a broader willingness to confront difficult subjects honestly and without delay.

There are other sensitive issues that many people feel are rarely discussed openly: the radicalisation of some young people, forced marriages, public health concerns linked to cousin marriages, and the pressures associated with irregular migration. These are complex matters, and they deserve calm, evidence-led debate rather than avoidance.

What is particularly damaging is the growing sense among ordinary residents that speaking openly carries social risk. Many feel they must weigh every word for fear of being misunderstood or labelled. That atmosphere is not healthy for a confident, democratic region.

Tolerance works best when it is matched by shared civic values – equality before the law, protection of children, freedom of expression, and the secular nature of public institutions. 

Honest scrutiny of policies and practices should strengthen social cohesion, not undermine it.

If trust is to be rebuilt, decisions by police and public bodies must be clearly rooted in evidence and law, insulated as far as possible from external pressure. Safeguarding should always come before reputation management. 

And political leaders should be prepared to defend open discussion, however uncomfortable. The West Midlands has always thrived on resilience and straight talking. 

Fewer unspoken anxieties and more honest conversation would not weaken community relations. In the long run, they may be one of the best ways to protect them.

* Roshan Doug is an educationalist and a former Birmingham Poet Laureate