Reflecting on the tragic and devastating loss of life on the A66, it remains extraordinarily difficult to process the enormity of it all and the profound sense of sadness it has brought. I had the immense privilege to attend the extremely emotionally charged funerals of PC Matty Blades in Hartlepool and PC Tom Clough in Kirkleatham the following day.
Remarkable lives
The sheer scale and intense sadness of both ceremonies was immense. This was evidenced by the huge attendances and the heartfelt expressions of sympathy and solidarity from the many members of the public who gathered, the vast majority of whom had never known or even met Matty or Tom. But they gathered outside to express their sorrow and stand in solidarity with the officers’ families. They also stood alongside the wider police family, represented by officers who had travelled from forces across the country.
It was a privilege to be present and gain an insight into their truly remarkable lives, both professional and personal: their joys, their sense of humour and their sorrows. It gave me a clear understanding of how and why they were so very much loved by their families, friends and colleagues.
Hearing the very personal words from those who knew them both so well and hearing about their compelling characters and engaging personalities gave an intimate insight into their humanity.
I confess that too often, when seeing a police officer, I simply see the uniform. Of course, I value and am deeply grateful for their protection and public service. But what these memorable funerals brought home in such vivid colour was the true nature of the individuals wearing that uniform.
The uniform itself symbolises an unselfish dedication to serving our community, for which we are so grateful. But when two such remarkable men lose their lives in such shocking and terrible circumstances, what becomes inescapable, as we learn a little about them, is their individualism, not their uniformity, and just how special they truly were.
The loss for their families must be all consuming and overwhelming and I am sure that they are in the thoughts and in the prayers of many many people – and will remain so.
Cleveland Police
Their colleagues in Cleveland Police have suffered an earth shattering loss and they need and deserve our support. The Chief Constable, Victoria Fuller, has been utterly superb in her resolute and steadfast leadership whilst expressing her own personal devastation at the loss of two of her officers. Cleveland Police is a small force where people know each other. It is also a much improved police force. Indeed it is the second most improved force in the country out of 43 and has had some notable and creditable successes. All of this is against the backdrop of the highest crime rate in the country. Yet perversely, Cleveland has some of the lowest levels of human and financial resources provided by central government to combat crime. There is a stark graphic in a recent Police Remuneration Report that illustrates the percentage changes in full-time equivalent police officer numbers between 2010 and 2025.
At the top of that league table is Surrey, with an increase of 23 per cent. You have to scroll down and down and down to the very bottom to find Cleveland, with a decrease of 13 per cent. I say again: Cleveland has the highest crime rate in the country, yet it has 200 fewer officers than it did in 2010.
That cannot be sustained and an urgent correction is needed now. I am grateful for the Home Secretary announcing that an additional £2m will be available to Cleveland Police. I don’t want to be churlish but that is simply nowhere near enough. This one-off payment will perhaps cover the mutual aid bill in respect of all those other constabularies across the country who instantly came to our aid at our time of crisis. Once that has been spent we will effectively be back to “business as usual”.
That simply won’t cut it. It is estimated that we will need a permanent additional £20m per annum to address our needs and allow us to increase our police officer numbers back up to 2010 levels.
The other thing that the infamous graphic exposes is the sheer obscene politicking in the funding formula. This tragedy has pulled people together, but we cannot escape the stark-staring reality that the funding formula is not fit for purpose. It does not properly address need. Worse, it has been deliberately weighted in favour of affluent areas with much lower levels of crime than Cleveland. Where is the morality in that? Nowhere, because there isn’t any.
The Tory government’s decision to cut 20,000 police officers was a total disaster and totally the wrong decision and we in Cleveland are still suffering the consequences.
When I look at statistics like those, I have Rishi Sunak’s Tunbridge Wells garden party words ringing in my ears. He said he was going to undo funding formulas that favoured areas of the country with the greatest need and switch them around to favour the leafy shires. That obscenity is still at work and it’s up to this Labour government to correct it.
I welcome the Home Secretary’s commitment to restructure the Police Service ascribing different elements of the service on a national, regional and community level but Cleveland can’t wait for re-organisation. The correction and the restoration of officer numbers is needed now.
Young Futures and rewiring Britain
And we simply cannot ignore the five other young people in the Passat who lost their lives. It is they who were engaged in a criminal enterprise. We have to condemn their criminal acts.
We as a community are on the side of the police, the law enforcers, not the law breakers. We cannot know what was happening in that car that ended up travelling at speed on the wrong carriageway, so speculation gets us nowhere. We can, however, ask how drug dealing, organised crime and performative criminality have taken such a strong hold in parts of our communities, terrorising and terrifying good and decent people who had the great misfortune to be exposed to it? They need to be heard. Their desire is the same as everyone else in wanting to live peaceably and lead fulfilled and flourishing lives. That’s not possible if their neighbourhoods are so blighted by criminality and intimidatory behaviours creating such a corrosive atmosphere of fear.
We cannot ignore the impact of the wrong turns politicians have taken over the past 40 or 50 years. There is much to celebrate, and there are opportunities for our young people. But we cannot ignore that many of the fulfilling opportunities once available to young people in these communities are no longer there. Political and economic decisions made over decades have left a void in far too many places. Nature abhors a vacuum and it’s obvious to anyone who cares to look that organised crime and drug dealing has found fertile ground.
So I welcome the announcement this week of new funding for Young Futures Hubs both in Middlesbrough and in Redcar and Cleveland. These will bring together mental health support, employment opportunities and crime prevention initiatives and will give young people that better start that they need.
It is incumbent on this Labour government to indeed rewire Britain and bring about major industrialisation and provide our people and communities with the opportunities and the employment to thrive and prosper.
That industrial renewal must be matched by immediate investment in policing and better support for those who protect our communities. That reset has to be our mission.
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