Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced an additional £2 million for Cleveland Police to tackle serious crime following a deeply difficult period for the force and communities across the Middlesbrough area.
Mahmood said recent events had placed “exceptional pressure” on Cleveland Police, with additional officers already deployed from neighbouring forces to support the response.
Writing on X, she said:
“The troubling scenes over recent days have placed exceptional pressure on @ClevelandPolice.”
“Additional officers have been deployed to Cleveland from around the region and an additional £2 million in funding has been allocated to tackle serious crime in the area.”
The announcement follows the deaths of PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, who were killed in the line of duty on 22 August when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way along the A66 collided with their marked police vehicle near Middlesbrough. Five men travelling in the other vehicle were also killed.
Cleveland Police has said the five men may have had links to serious and organised criminal activity. The force has subsequently mounted a major operation targeting suspected organised crime, supported by the National Crime Agency and the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit.
Around 200 officers from outside the force have also been drafted in as Cleveland Police responds to the heightened pressure.
Labour Government backs police response
Announcing the additional funding, Mahmood said the £2 million would strengthen existing operations and support the force’s work against serious and organised crime.
She said: “This will build on existing operations, including the clear, hold, build approach, which is both tough on serious crime and on the causes of serious crime, and has been shown to work across the country.”
The Home Secretary added that the Government would continue working closely with Cleveland Police to make sure officers had the support they needed “as they face these challenging circumstances and grieve the loss of two of their own”.
The intervention came after Prime Minister Andy Burnham paid tribute to the two officers as Parliament returned.
Burnham told MPs that the whole House would want to express its “deepest condolences” to their families, friends and colleagues.
He also pledged support for the wider community, saying: “We will do our best to support the Middlesbrough community, which is hurting and grieving right now.”
Local Labour MPs have been pressing for additional support following the recent incidents, arguing that Cleveland Police needs resources that reflect the scale and complexity of the challenges it faces. Five Teesside Labour MPs — Andy McDonald, Chris McDonald, Luke Myer, Jonathan Brash and Anna Turley — recently called for greater support for police and fire services in the area. Andy McDonald has also paid tribute at Cleveland Police Memorial Garden.
Mahmood’s announcement represents an immediate response from the Labour Government, combining additional police deployments with new funding targeted specifically at serious crime.
The message from ministers is that Cleveland Police will not be expected to confront the current challenges alone — and that both additional resources and wider regional support will be made available as the force works to protect communities and disrupt organised crime.
