Cleveland Police awarded £2m after fatal A66 crash, Wales 2026

Key Points

• The Cleveland Police will get £2m extra funding from the UK government to combat serious and organized crime after the death of seven people, including two police constables, in a car accident on the A66 road near Middlesbrough.
• The extra cash was pledged by the UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood in the House of Commons on 1 September 2026, following praise for two deceased police constables Matthew Blades and Tom Clough from the UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
• So far, Cleveland Police has made 27 arrests in connection with serious and organized crimes related to the car accident, and there are about 200 officers from other departments who joined to help.
• The local politicians and the Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner Matt Storey said that £2m is a one-off payment that is not enough because of the chronic underfunding and called for an additional £20m annual funding for Cleveland Police.
• A fundraising campaign for the families of the two police constables has finished with collecting over £1.2m.

Wales (Wales Times) September 02, 2026 – Cleveland Police is being given an extra £2 million to tackle serious and organised crime, the Home Secretary has announced, after a spate of incidents in and around Middlesbrough linked to a fatal collision on the A66. Shabana Mahmood made the announcement in the House of Commons on Tuesday, 1 September 2026, after Prime Minister Andy Burnham paid tribute to two police officers killed in the line of duty on the A66 near Middlesbrough in the early hours of Saturday, 22 August.

PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, died when a Volkswagen Passat – which had been pursued by police – was driven the wrong way along the dual carriageway near South Bank and hit their marked armed response vehicle head-on. The five young men travelling in the Passat also died in the collision. Cleveland Police has said the five men who died after their vehicle hit the police car may have had links to “serious and organised criminal activity”.

As reported by Federica Bedendo of BBC News, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “In light of the situation the force has faced, we will allocate an additional £2m to Cleveland Police to tackle serious crime in the area.” Ms Mahmood added that the government would “do our best to support the Middlesbrough community, which is hurting and grieving right now”, and that she heard calls from local MPs for a discussion about investment in policing and police numbers.

How many arrests have been made since the crash?

Cleveland Police has arrested 27 people for activities it has linked to “serious and organised crime” since the deaths of PC Blades and PC Clough and the five men who crashed into them. Around 200 police officers from outside Cleveland Police have been drafted in to help the force tackle organised crime following the crash on the A66. The force has faced heavy pressure in the aftermath, with officers dealing with a series of incidents including homes being rammed and vehicles set on fire at a vigil.

As reported by BBC News, the force’s investigation into the crash has been part of a wider probe into organised crime in the region, with multiple waves of arrests in recent days. Earlier reporting indicated that an initial 12 people were arrested on one day, followed by another five later that day, including on suspicion of being in an organised crime group. Further arrests brought the total to 24 before the latest figures reached 27.

What have MPs and local leaders said about the £2m funding?

The funding announcement prompted sharp criticism from opposition politicians and local representatives who argue it does not go far enough. As reported by Federica Bedendo of BBC News, Conservative MP Chris Philp told Ms Mahmood the extra £2m pledged was “wholly inadequate” and said he was concerned about a shortfall in funding for the force in general. He said:

“This lawless gang chaos should never have been allowed to take root in the first place.”

Cleveland’s Labour Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Matt Storey called the move “insulting” and “performative”, saying a “one-off payment” was “not a solution”. He said: “It does nothing to address the chronic underfunding that has disadvantaged policing in Cleveland for years.” Mr Storey called on the government to act to address “deep-rooted funding inequalities” and said:

“Cleveland Police needs at least an additional £20m every year to recruit and retain 200 more police officers, to strengthen efforts to crack down on serious and organised crime.”

Labour MP for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East, Andy McDonald, told Ms Mahmood that Cleveland Police had the highest rate of crime for any police force in England and Wales. He said the latest figures showed about 123 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents, yet the force had received the “largest percentage reduction” in officers since 2010. “Police numbers are not the only factor, but a force facing the highest demand in the country needs the resources to respond,” he said. He added the £2m would address some of the extra funding needed but he wanted to discuss how funding shortfalls could “urgently and permanently be corrected”.

Luke Myer, Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, also called for the government to review how funding was assigned. Ms Mahmood said she would be happy to meet with MPs in the area to discuss the issue and wider funding concerns, and that she would update MPs once an independent review on police force structures had been completed.

What is the government’s position on police funding?

In response to criticism, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she was committed to reviewing the funding formula and blamed the previous government for cutting officer numbers nationally. As reported by The Northern Echo, Ms Mahmood said:

“It is this Government that is righting those wrongs. We have increased policing funding by £2 billion since being elected, and all forces will receive a real-terms funding increase this year as part of an overall £18.5 billion package.”

She added:

“Funding to Cleveland has increased by £18.3 million since 2024, and that’s a real-terms increase of 4.4% over two years.”

Prime Minister Andy Burnham also paid tribute to the fallen officers in Parliament. As reported by The Northern Echo, he said: “I know the whole House will wish to join me in expressing deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough, who were killed in the line of duty on the A66.” He added: “We will do our best to support the Middlesbrough community, which is hurting and grieving right now, and we hear the call from the members of this House representing it for a discussion about investment in policing and police numbers.”

What fundraising has taken place for the officers’ families?

A fundraising appeal set up by Cleveland Police Federation following the deaths of PCs Matthew Blades and Tom Clough has closed after climbing to more than £1.2m. The cash raised will be split between the families of the two officers. The appeal reached its £1.2 million target earlier on the day the funding announcement was made.

Background to the A66 crash and organised crime concerns

The fatal collision occurred on the A66 at South Bank, near Middlesbrough, on 22 August 2026, when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way during a police pursuit hit a Cleveland Police armed response car head-on. Seven people died: PCs Matthew Blades and Tom Clough, and five young men in the Passat. Cleveland Police has said the five men who died may have had links to “serious and organised criminal activity”, prompting a wider investigation into organised crime in the region. In the days after the crash, the force made multiple arrests linked to serious and organised crime, and drafted in around 200 officers from other forces to assist with the surge in operations.

Prediction: How could this development affect Cleveland residents and policing?

The £2m injection is likely to enable Cleveland Police to sustain short-term operations against serious and organised crime, including maintaining the additional officer presence and continuing investigations linked to the A66 crash. For residents in Middlesbrough and surrounding areas, this could mean more visible policing and a greater focus on disrupting organised crime groups in the immediate term. However, given the strength of local criticism that the funding is a one-off measure, the longer-term impact may depend on whether the government agrees to a permanent increase in resources. If funding remains short-term, pressure on the force could return once the surge operation ends, potentially affecting response times and the capacity to tackle high crime rates in the area. Conversely, if the announcement leads to a broader review and a sustained uplift in officer numbers and resources, it could improve public confidence and reduce serious crime over time.