A Home Office minister has been criticised by a senior Tory after she paid tribute to the five dead youths who killed two police officers on the A66.
Anna Turley, the Labour MP for Redcar, took to social media the following morning of the crash in her constituency, sharing a photo of her laying flowers for the seven victims.
The five dead youngsters died driving the wrong way down the A66 when they struck and killed PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, who were travelling in a response vehicle.
She wrote: ‘This morning I went down to South Bank to lay flowers and pay my respects, on behalf of our whole community, to the seven people whose lives were so tragically cut short yesterday.
‘There really are no words for the heartbreak their families, friends and loved ones will be feeling today.
‘May you all rest in peace.’
The Labour politician has now come under fire for the tribute, with a Conservative MP accusing her of putting the ‘thugs’ on a ‘par’ with the two police officers whose lives were tragically cut short.
Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy said: ‘Anna Turley is a Home Office minister.’
Anna Turley posted in the aftermath of the crash that she wanted to pay her respects to all seven who had died in the crash in her constituency
Ms Turley, a Home Office minister, has been criticised for seemingly putting the five youths on ‘a par’ with the two dead officers in her immediate response
Senior Tory Nick Timothy criticised her post, sparking a furious war of words with Ms Turley
‘She wants to ‘pay her respects to the seven people whose lives were tragically cut short’ in the Middlesbrough crash this weekend. I can’t be the only one for whom this statement jars.
‘Two police officers – one an army veteran – were needlessly killed while on service. The five thugs who caused the crash – who killed PC Tom Clough and PC Matthew Blades – also died.
‘These criminals, with many past offences between them, were driving illegally and irresponsibly the wrong way down an A road.
‘We don’t want to speak ill of the dead, I understand that. But the tragedy is the loss of those two police officers. The five thugs who killed them were responsible not only for their own demise but for the deaths of two innocent men.
‘We may live in an age of emoting, but we should be able to see the difference between right and wrong.
‘And it doesn’t feel right for a Home Office minister to put two police officers on a par with the thugs who killed them.’
Ms Turley hit back in a furious letter to Mr Timothy, saying she was ‘utterly appalled’ by his criticism.
The letter, seen by the Daily Mail, doubled down that ‘all [seven dead] were human beings with families who are grieving them’.
It added: ‘The fact that you have sought to create media hits and political points out of this horrendous event is beneath contempt.’
Ms Turley insisted that the identities of the five young men in the car that crashed into the police officers ‘were not even public when I paid my respects’ and claimed that Cleveland Police ‘had specifically requested that I pay tribute to all victims in any message’.
When approached by the Daily Mail, Cleveland Police refused to confirm or deny that any directive had been issued to the MP.
Around 19 hours before Ms Turley posted her tribute to Facebook, Cleveland Chief Constable Victoria Fuller said her thoughts ‘are with the families of everyone involved in today’s incident’.
Ms Turley sent a letter to Mr Timothy claiming that Cleveland Police had ‘requested’ that she pay tribute to all seven dead
PC Matthew Blades (left) and PC Tom Clough (right) both died when their police vehicle was struck by the Volkswagen Passat driving the wrong way down the A66
Mr Timothy has now written back to Ms Turley, saying it ‘would be an extraordinary thing for a police force to ask an MP to do’.
The minister, who spent years working as an adviser in the Home Office for then-Home Secretary Theresa May, added: ‘I have never known such a request to be made in my years working with the police.’
He has asked her to provide written evidence to prove that her local force made a request about how she responded to the tragedy.
Ms Turley has been approached for comment.
Local Labour councillor Alec Brown, who leads the Labour grouping on Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, also sparked outrage in his response to the fatal crash.
At 7pm on Sunday, Mr Brown announced a book of condolences would be opened at the council offices for the ‘2 family men in the prime of their lives needlessly lost their lives’ and the ‘5 young kids have gone before they even got started in adult life.’
But following widespread backlash on his Facebook post from local voters, he later U-turned and said ‘the book of condolences at the council will be for the 2 Cleveland Police officers only’ in order to prevent ‘anymore distractions or upset to the community’.
The row came as balaclava-clad youths sparked anger as they set off flares and fireworks in tribute to the five dead youths.
The chaotic scenes were filmed last night, and stood in stark contrast to a silent prayer vigil hosted in a nearby church to honour PC Clough and PC Blades.
Friends and family of one of those who died in the VW, Jakub Matusiak, 23, gathered at a field in South Bank, Middlesbrough, just yards from the scene of Saturday’s catastrophic collision.
What began as a balloon release descended into confusion of smoke and noise when attendees lit up the sky with flares and rockets.
A gang of around 20 masked youths on motorbikes and quad bikes roared around the field in honour of Matusiak, who himself had convictions for motoring offences.
Footage showed dozens of flares being held aloft, filling the field with dense orange fog as bikes revved their engines and blared their horns.
Scores of people yesterday held orange flares aloft in a field in South Bank, Middlesbrough, to mark the deaths of the five youths
A group of masked bikers tore around the field and joined in with the pyrotechnics
The scenes sparked anger, with onlookers accusing the crowd of showing ‘disrespect of the highest order’.
Hundreds of people on social media criticised yesterday’s scenes.
Diane Pennock said: ‘I get it that their family’s and friends will be devastated and grieving but surely in circumstances where they have killed two innocent men who were simply out doing their jobs, you grieve in private?
‘To me, the public show of grief is completely excusing what they have done and that they have taken two young men’s lives who had families and children they should have gone home to.’
Writing on Facebook, Wendy Allington accused the mourners of showing ‘disrespect of the highest level for the two murdered policemen’ and said a quiet vigil would have been more appropriate.
The balloon release was also criticised by environmental campaigners, who insist the plastic in balloons spreads pollution that risks harming wildlife.
Balloons can block animals’ digestive and respiratory tracts, causing them to die a slow and painful death.
