Teesside's Conservative MP calls for more resources for police and fire
Matt Vickers says this week's been devastating
The only Tory MP on Teesside is hoping Andy Burnham stays true to his word after promising help to tackle the key problems after the incidents this week near Middlesbrough.
Investigations are continuing into a fatal house fire in Grangetown, which was only a mile away from the scene of a head-on collision which killed two police officers and five young men on Saturday.
Stockton West MP Matt Vickers, shadow minister for policing and crime, said: "I think it's just devastating. It's devastating to see lives lost in such a way. You've got to look at that funding model, you've got to look at what's happening. Our police need that resource, they need to keep on top of this, they need to be able to keep the public safe.
"I think when we talk about resources, I'm hesitant to get into any sort of politics, but there is a wider debate around the funding of Cleveland Police and around the funding of Cleveland Fire Brigade and whether actually Cleveland gets its fair share of resources. That's a debate that will continue to go on.
"We need to make sure that those brave men and women on the frontline, in our police force, in our fire brigade, have what they need to get on with their job and to do it safely. They deserve our support, they deserve the resources they need to deliver on that hugely important job they undertake.
"We don't know the details of how all these things are linked specifically. I'm always worried that we start feeding discussions around links between this, that and the other. We know the online world joins the dots faster than anybody and often gets it wrong.
"We've got to wait. The police are investigating and there's a lot of resource going in from different forces to support Cleveland at this time in investigating these issues. We've got to wait, see what the details are, and then we can make decisions and judgments around what's gone on. But lots of people have lost their lives in the most horrific of situations, and that should be where our hearts and thoughts are at the moment.
"I always think that we should be very careful to let politics get into what was a really tragic incident. I think that is an incident, we should be looking at it, we should be investigating it and the police should be putting all the resources they need into dealing with that. I think separately there is a wider piece about funding for Cleveland Police and Cleveland Fire Brigade."
Five Cleveland MPs yesterday issued a joint statement calling on the Government to give more funding to police and fire.
Matt Vickers added: "I wish there'd be in this chamber more calling about it. I led a debate recently specifically on the funding of Cleveland Fire Brigade and how we're not being given our share and the risk that that's posing to firefighters who are having to deal with situations without adequate resource and the risk that poses to the public.
"If you look at the record we've been raising this in the House of Commons about police funding in Cleveland, I hope that my Labour neighbours will get more engaged in that, be more vocal in that and hold the government to account for the inadequate funding that we're seeing for Cleveland Police and Cleveland Fire Brigade.
"Across the country, the number of police officers is now being cut, which is devastating and is not what people are paying their taxes for. We want to see our police force properly funded in Cleveland, we want to see our fire brigades properly funded, and it's on all of us, whichever our political party, to make that noise to government and drive that pressure so that Cleveland gets its fair share of resource."
Yesterday, Andy Burnham said the Government is offering “all of the support that the authorities need” after the “terribly tragic” house fire.
Asked about the incidents, the Prime Minister told reporters during a visit to South Wales: “Obviously we’re offering all of the support that the authorities need.
“The important thing, it’s a terribly tragic event that’s happened with the loss of a young woman and her seven-year-old niece.”
He continued: “Utterly devastating, and I’m sure there’s a whole community that is grieving, not just what happened at the weekend, and particularly we should stress our deepest respect for the police officers lost in the line of duty and sending our sympathies to their families.
“And we will obviously make sure that the support is there for them going forward.”
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder in relation to the fire which took the lives of the victims named locally as 34 year-old Natalie McDonald and seven-year-old Valentina Foster, as well as injuring four others.
Cleveland Police is trying to establish whether the A66 crash was linked to the fire in Birchington Avenue.
Ms McDonald’s devastated brother Josh Kirton told reporters: “My sister was not involved with anything to do with gangs, or the (crash on the) A66.
“That’s what makes this so senseless.
“People think they can do whatever they like.
“There’s some terrible people in the world and now my sister and Valentina have gone.”
Tributes have been left outside the house, with a photo of the pair left among the bouquets and toys with the words: “RIP Natalie and Valentina you will be missed.”
A Care Bear toy was left, along with a teddy bear and a note which said: “Now she dances with butterflies Valentina.”
Another message said: “Valentina what a lovely young girl, so sad, RIP.”
On Thursday morning inquests were opened into the deaths of two police officers who were killed when their marked vehicle was hit by a car going the wrong way down the A66.
37 year-old PC Matthew Blades and 38 year-old PC Tom Clough died in a head-on collision with a Volkswagen Passat on Saturday.
Teesside Coroners’ Court heard that “all occupants of both vehicles were sadly pronounced dead at the scene”.
In short, consecutive hearings, coroner Paul Appleton said Pc Blades was identified by his wife, and Pc Clough by his partner.
The provisional cause of death was said to be head and neck injuries for Pc Blades, and neck injuries for Pc Clough.
Mr Appleton said: “At this stage it is understood that there had been a police pursuit of the Volkswagen Passat.
“It entered the A66 carriageway against the flow of traffic, at which stage the pursuit was aborted.
“A short time after… the Volkswagen Passat collided with a police vehicle, which had not been directly involved in the prior pursuit.”
In the afternoon, inquests were opened into the deaths of the young men in the Passat – Cole Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jakub Matusiak, named by police as Jacob.
In separate hearings, Mr Appleton said that the young men were identified through fingerprint analysis.
The causes of death were said to be neck injuries for Mr Matusiak, head and torso injuries for Mr Cahill, head injuries for Mr Saddington and Mr Rae, and head and chest injuries for Mr Worthy.
Fundraising pages for the two PCs has reached over a million pounds.
Matt Vickers added: "It's devastating to see what's happened to those police officers in particular and you're reminded about the fact that every day there are people in our area who put on a uniform, put themselves at risk to go out and keep us safe, and then this was just the worst of the worst in terms of consequences, absolutely devastating for the community, absolutely devastating for all the families involved.
"The more you hear about these two individuals, the more you hear how amazing they were as individuals, the service that they put forward, fantastic human beings, fantastic public servants who've paid this awful price for that service. It's right to see that across the country people are moved by this. They want to recognise that and they want to support these families who are going through absolute hell as a consequence."
Hartlepool United has said it will hold a two minutes’ silence for the police officers at its home fixture against Eastleigh today (Friday 28th August).
Police have arrested 17 people following the A66 crash, charging two of them and bailing the others, as part of investigations into alleged organised crime.
The Passat had been pursued by police following an earlier incident in which a house in the Acklam area of Middlesbrough, linked to Worthy, was rammed by a vehicle.
Police have previously said the five young men in the Passat may have had links to “serious and organised criminal activity” and four of them have previous convictions.