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Hundreds of mourners have gathered in Middlesbrough for the funeral of one of the A66 crash victims - as schools and roads were closed down amid fears of public disorder.
Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott explains why she thinks the government's response to the disorder is 'totally inadequate'.
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0:00
This is an extraordinary set of circumstances, isn't it
0:02
We know that the area has seen a significant increase in police numbers
0:08
for the investigation and just for the maintenance of law and order
0:12
but that there should be such concern around a funeral that schools close
0:17
Nick Ferrari made the, I thought, very good point this morning that, you know, a couple of years ago
0:23
we saw the Queen die and be buried and have huge queues waiting to see it
0:28
nobody needed, you know, to fear for their safety in that situation. There's something really odd
0:34
going on, isn't there? Yeah, I'm quite frankly appalled, Sheena. And Nick, as ever, is totally
0:40
right. I think this is a real test, actually, for the government, for who is in control of the
0:47
streets, because it is a hell of a precedent to shut schools down because of criminal gangs and
0:53
disorder and it's not one that I think that we should be setting and the government need to get
0:58
a grip. I think that the response of the education secretary so far has been frankly inadequate
1:04
To say that it's up to head teachers, that's incredibly unfair on head teachers who just
1:11
want reassurances that their pupils are going to be safe. It is for the government to step in
1:15
and to say that they will provide the security that is needed for parents and pupils and teachers
1:21
to be able to go to and from schools safely. So this is a test for the government and it's one that they're failing
1:27
I've seen previously as a reporter in Liverpool, I seen similar sets of circumstances where individual gangs and again I can speak for what going to happen this afternoon there but I seen similar sets of circumstances leading to funerals leading to big pinch points
1:45
and there was no question. The police, in instances I have in mind, the police
1:50
made their presence felt and gave a very strong message to any other young people or gangs
1:56
if they wanted to try this kind of thing and think they could take control of the streets
2:00
they will not, they cannot and they must not. Is that what you need to see this afternoon
2:05
Exactly. We must not give in to thugs. It's not for criminal gangs to determine whether a child
2:13
goes to school or not. This is really pivotal because if you are a law-abiding parent today
2:21
who has had to stop work to come back to take your child home because people are afraid for
2:27
their safety because there are these thugs going up and down on quad bikes on the streets. What does
2:33
that say about who we are as a country? It is utterly wrong. And it makes me really very, very
2:40
angry because I really need to see exactly what you described, Sheila. I want the government to
2:47
be stepping in, providing those police resources, saying to schools, don't worry, we will make sure
2:52
that everybody who comes to and from your school is safe because it is absolutely pivotal that
2:57
schools remain open at all costs because we do not give in to these people and that's been lacking
3:03
today. I had a conversation a week or so ago for an hour with callers debating whether or not
3:10
we heard a government minister say that the people of Middlesbrough were being terrorised that it is a form of terrorism in a way the kind of behaviour that they expected to be on the receiving end of Now I backed that comment but it was interesting that a lot of people
3:24
pushed back against me and did not back that comment. And it just seems to me that I get that it's not political terrorism in any explicit way
3:33
But again, going back to those Liverpool days reporting, Where there is a body of people, young or older
3:41
who have a grip on the safety of people or the lack of safety of people in a particular area
3:47
that is a form of gang warfare slash terrorism, isn't it? If you live in it, I don't live in it
3:52
I think it is. And I think when you've seen it and when you've experienced it
3:57
you know how awful it is. And this is just a symptom of a wider problem, right
4:02
Like, if we are saying that police cannot control, as I said, these thugs on quad bikes going up and down
4:09
then there is something really going wrong there. And it makes a terrible statement about who is in charge
4:17
And I cannot bear the thought of people being scared in their houses today
4:23
sitting there really worried about what is going to happen, about whether there's going to be disorder
4:27
about whether their house is going to be vandalised, about what's going on with their kids
4:32
You can just, it's just so awful. and I cannot believe we are in this situation
4:38
No, I can't. I mean, I was looking at it and it reminded me of certain moments
4:41
during the troubles in Northern Ireland where I remember when children were jeered when they were heading to school and hideous
4:48
But do you accept that your party has some responsibility for the state of policing in this country the breadth and depth of it because that what needed here is breadth and depth of policing
5:03
And I would argue your party has some degree of responsibility at what's been done to policing
5:09
But the thing that I would say, Sheila, is that it is absolutely possible
5:12
with the police that we have at the moment to mount an operation
5:16
to ensure that the schools are safe. That is absolutely possible. They could do it if they wanted to do it
5:22
They're just not doing it. And that is my problem. And do you believe that, again, we can't, if cases are alive, they have to be investigated and we have to let that happen
5:34
But what do we do about a community? And Middlesbrough certainly isn't the only one
5:38
But what do we do about a community where young people, some young people are this out of control
5:44
Because that's what it is. I think it starts with the police response
5:49
I think it is really important that we have a strong police response and there is order on the streets because that is what people need
5:56
They need to feel able to go to school, to walk down their streets, to go to their church and not feel like they're going to be intimidated by thugs
6:05
And that is at the heart of everything, because if you feel unsafe in an area, you might as a young person join a gang because you feel like they're going to give you protection rather than feeling like you are out on your own
6:17
So more interventions in those lives, more interventions? I think so. I think it starts with that
6:22
There's obviously a wider question about schools and about opportunities in the area and all those things
6:27
And actually, there is a lot of work I know going on in these environments on exactly that
6:31
But it starts with the policing response. And that is why I'm so cross with the government today
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