A live Sky News broadcast was cut short after correspondent Shingi Mararike was hassled by members of the public while reporting from Middlesbrough. The journalist had been discussing updates on the A66 crash, which left two police officers dead and five other men in another car.
Broadcast interrupted by shouting
As Mararike presented the segment, voices could be heard shouting negative comments about the police behind him. He paused the broadcast, saying: “We’re going to have to stop this broadcast now as there is someone behind me. We’ll try and continue now, just holding off as we are being accosted by members of the public.”
He attempted to carry on with an update on the inquest, but people were still heard shouting behind him. He said: “We’ll have to stop, and perhaps you’ll have to come back to us later. Apologies about that.”
Studio response and tributes
The news returned to the studio, where a presenter replied: “Yeah Shingi, I totally understand. It is really difficult when you are trying to broadcast and someone is saying stuff. You don’t know what the language is, so I totally understand and we will try and come back to you a little bit later, hopefully when you are not being hassled live on air. Thank you, Shingi Mararike.”
PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough died during the early hours of Saturday morning when a car going in the wrong direction hit their vehicle. The five people who were killed in the other car were Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Jakub Matusiak, 23, Makai Saddington, 18, and 17-year-olds Theo Rae and Cole Robert Worthy.
Tributes have been paid to the officers, with a fundraiser for their families having reached more than £1m. PC Blades was described by his family as a “beloved husband” and the “most devoted father”. His wife called him “forever our super hero”, while PC Clough, who had previously served in the Army, was called a “true friend, fantastic soldier and I have no doubt even better police officer” by a friend.
Further tributes on GMB
During an interview on Good Morning Britain on Thursday, Chair of the Cleveland Police Federation, Lauren Somerville, also paid tribute. She said: “It’s really hard to put into words the moment that I heard the news, and then afterwards, and even how it feels now. It’s so difficult to describe the feeling of the grief and the weight of the grief and the pain.”
She added: “They were both so passionate about policing, about public service.” She went on: “Tom dedicated his life to serving the public and the country and Matthew again dedicated his life to serving people. They were just so proud to be police officers, and just an embodiment of policing. Exactly what you imagine when you hear the word police officer, an image of them two would appear in your head.”
