Recent public disorder in Middlesbrough, including cars set alight, is a "terrifying symptom of lawless Britain," according to Ben Houchen, the mayor of Tees Valley. The incidents followed a gathering to mourn the death of Michael Cahill, 23, who died when a car he was in crashed on the A66.
The mayor described the burning vehicles as a "picture of lawlessness" and stated that most residents are "utterly repulsed" by the events. He attributed the problems not to the local population, but to a pervasive drug trade and individuals he characterized as "criminals, plain and simple," who engage in violence and intimidation.
"They have been allowed to flourish because for years the people who hold the levers of policing and criminal justice have been soft where they ought to have been hard," Houchen stated. He characterized the situation as symptomatic of a broader national issue where "worklessness, drugs and benefits have become a way of life," leading to a loss of respect for authority and personal responsibility.
Houchen criticized the tendency to explain such behavior as an "inevitable product of circumstance," contrasting it with those who have faced similar challenges but chose to adhere to the law. He also specifically addressed the A66 crash, stating that the true victims were the police officers involved, PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough, and that those who lose their lives committing crimes should not be memorialized.
To address the issue, Houchen called for the Home Office to "back the police to flood these areas with officers and then keeping them there for as long as the job takes." He also advocated for fairer funding for forces like Cleveland to increase street presence and for courts to impose stricter penalties on offenders. "The alternative is exactly what the country has just watched, which is families grieving, communities frightened and a political class that keeps quietly telling itself that all of this is happening to somebody else," he warned.