People who share footage glorifying dangerous driving are “doing something that’s truly reprehensible”, the Prime Minister has said in the wake of a horror crash that claimed the lives of two police officers and five other men near Middlesbrough.
Andy Burnham made the comments today, Monday August 24, during a visit to Kyiv as the Government urged TikTok and other social media firms to remove wrong-way driving videos.
Victims and court records
The move comes as court records show one of the men killed in the A66 crash was convicted of crimes against police officers.
PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were killed when a Volkswagen Passat – which had been pursued by police – was driven the wrong way along the dual carriageway and hit their marked armed response vehicle in Teesside early on Saturday.
Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak were also pronounced dead at the scene.
Court records show that Saddington pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer and indicated a guilty plea to causing racially aggravated alarm or distress to another officer in Middlesbrough on June 9, an HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) spokesperson said.
He entered his pleas at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on July 17 and was handed a 12-month conditional discharge.
The HMCTS spokesperson also said that on April 1, Saddington appeared before the same court where he admitted three counts of assaulting PC John Walker in Middlesbrough on October 11 2025.
He was made to pay a total of £240 in court costs and to carry out rehabilitation requirements.
Social media platforms urged to act
Meanwhile, defence minister Luke Pollard said social media platforms should act to remove posts of that nature.
Asked about videos being shared on TikTok, Snapchat and other forums, he told BBC Radio 5 Live: “We’ve communicated to those social media platforms that have been hosting content that celebrates this type of dangerous behaviour on our roads to take down that content.
“I think we all need to give the police time, but there's also things we can be doing in the meantime to make sure that the internet is a safer place for everyone, that doesn’t celebrate and load views and therefore financial incentives on people to generate such awful content.”
He added: “I want to see social media companies step up.
“It's one of the reasons they’ve argued against some of the regulations, saying they can police themselves. Well this is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate it. Remove the content that celebrates dangerous behaviour on our roads.
“While that content is online, the government will be using the powers in the Online Safety Act to compel the platforms to take it down.
“But if the social media platforms were to regulate themselves and remove it in the first place, not allow their algorithm to share this type of content, because they know exactly what type of content that algorithm is designed to share, then I think we’d be in a better place.”
TikTok has declined to give a statement in response, but said its policies strictly prohibit content that could cause significant physical harm, including dangerous driving, and that it is actively removing any videos and accounts that break its rules.
Cleveland police and crime commissioner Matt Storey acknowledged the reports about the TikTok videos, but urged people to avoid speculation.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Without being able to say whether that was anything like involved in this case, it’s absolutely idiotic for anybody to be doing anything other than being completely 100% focused on the road when they’re behind the wheel of a vehicle.
“And for somebody to be filming themselves or doing anything like that is absolutely ridiculous, and of course nobody should be doing that.
“And it is a worrying situation if that’s becoming more prevalent because it is incredibly dangerous.”
Online safety regulator Ofcom said: “Under the Online Safety Act, platforms must minimise children’s exposure to violent material and content promoting dangerous challenges.
“In July, we launched an investigation into TikTok’s compliance with its child safety duties, and we’ve shown we’ll take action if evidence suggests companies are falling short.”
A fundraiser created by the Cleveland Police Federation for the families of the officers had reached more than £250,000 on Monday morning.
Investigation and tributes
Cleveland Police launched the chase after receiving intelligence relating to “numerous incidents” linked to a Passat, which activated an ANPR camera and is believed to have been using cloned plates, investigating watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct said.
PC Blades and PC Clough were not involved in the original pursuit, but had been called to the area to assist with the search for the Passat.
Family members described former Civil Nuclear Constabulary officer PC Clough as “our hero” who was “always on public duty”.
The father-of-two’s family called him “our superhero” and said: “He gave his life in the line of duty, protecting and serving others with courage, dedication and selflessness.”
In a statement issued by Cleveland Police, PC Blades’ wife called him “my beloved husband, my best friend, and the most devoted father to our two young boys”.
She said he was “an adored son and brother, a perfect son-in-law, and the most fun uncle”.
“He was loved beyond words by all his family and friends, and his loss has left a space that can never be filled,” she said.
“Our children will grow up knowing what an incredible father he was and will always be, and I will carry his love, his memory and everything we shared with me always.”
She added: “Forever loved. Forever missed. Forever our superhero. Our Matt and Dad.”
PC Clough’s commanding officer from his time serving with the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) in Sellafield paid tribute to him as the “epitome of professionalism” who also had a “fun-loving, cheeky nature”.
The CNC said PC Clough joined in 2013 and served until April 2018 as an authorised firearms officer based at Sellafield Operational Policing Unit.
Chief Superintendent Richard Clark said: “Tom was the epitome of professionalism, bringing dedication, skill and commitment to every task, whether serving within our Dynamic Search and Interdiction Team, or in his role as a Police Medic.
“Yet what made Tom truly special was his personality. Alongside his professional excellence, he possessed a fun-loving, cheeky nature and a wit that could lift spirits even during the most demanding shifts.
“He had an extraordinary ability to light up any room he entered and to bring people together through his warmth, humour and authenticity.”
Tributes for the five young men were also shared on social media, with many of their friends saying they “can’t believe it” and were “heartbroken” and “lost for words”.
One message, dedicated to all five, said: “We all knew use and knew use had hearts of gold and most loyalist lads.”
The Passat they were travelling in was spotted and an armed response vehicle pursued for just under seven minutes before the car drove on to the A66 in South Bank against the flow of traffic.
Police aborted the chase and continued to travel on the correct side of the carriageway.
The Passat crashed into PC Blades and PC Clough’s vehicle around 10 seconds after the chase ended.
