A66 crash: glorifying dangerous driving is ‘truly reprehensible’, Burnham says after seven-death smash

Andy Burnham made the comments as the Government urged TikTok and other social media firms to remove wrong-way driving videos.

People who share footage glorifying dangerous driving are “doing something that’s truly reprehensible”, the Prime Minister has said after seven people died in a horror crash on the A66.

Andy Burnham made the comments today during a visit to Kyiv as the Government urged TikTok and other social media firms to remove wrong-way driving videos.

He said: “Anybody who glorifies dangerous driving is doing something that’s truly reprehensible.”

Two brave police officers - Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38 - were hit in their car and killed as a Volkswagen Passat drove the wrong way down the dual carriageway near Middlesbrough in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 16, Jacob Matusiak, 23, and Makai Saddington, 18, the occupants of the VW, also all died at the scene.

They were being pursued by police who called off the chase as the car began driving the wrong way down the A66.

Seconds later there was a fatal collision between the Volkswagen and the Pc Blades and Pc Clough, who were driving in the correct carriageway.

It has since emerged that two of the men had posted TikToks of joyriding and police chases in the run up to the tragic incident.

Court records have shown that one of them was convicted of crimes against police officers.

Earlier, a Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The glorification of dangerous driving for clips and entertainment is utterly disgraceful and that is why we have raised the issue of this appalling content with social media companies since the tragedy, and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Lisa Nandy) is clear that it should be removed in line with their legal obligations.”

She added that Ofcom has the Government’s “full backing to take tough action” against platforms which fail in their legal duties.

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 carry out rehabilitation requirements.

It has also been reported that Mr Saddington was involved in filming dangerous driving in TikTok videos before the fatal crash took place.

In one video, teens can be seen driving through a housing estate while a police car with blue flashing lights follows.

In the months before the crash, Mr Matusiak also posted videos on TikTok where he appeared to be joyriding.

In May, he appeared to be driving a Volvo at speed, before veering off the road and over a grass park, The Telegraph reported.

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.”

A TikTok spokesperson 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.

They added that TikTok was monitoring videos in relation to the A66 crash and had taken down videos posted by Mr Saddington and Mr Matusiak that breached the rules. The Yorkshire Post also contacted Meta and Snap for comment.