Middlesbrough schools to close early AGAIN for A66 crash funeral: Kemi Badenoch condemns 'obscene' decision

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 05:38 EDT, 7 September 2026 | Updated: 05:56 EDT, 7 September 2026 Several schools in Middlesbrough are shutting their doors early again today ahead of the funeral of 17-year-old Theo Rae, one of seven people killed in the A66 crash.Pupils at four schools in the Acklam area will be sent home hours before the normal end of the school day as mourners prepare to gather for Rae's funeral at Teesside Crematorium this afternoon.Outwood Academy Acklam will close at 12.15pm, while Newham Bridge Primary School will finish at 1pm.Acklam Whin Primary School and Green Lane School will both close at 1.15pm after pupils have had their lunch.According to Middlesbrough Council the decisions have been taken by the individual schools amid concerns that the funeral could cause localised traffic disruption and delays later in the afternoon.The closures come just three days after schools in neighbouring South Bank also sent children home early for the funeral of another victim, 23-year-old Jakub Matusiak.That service ultimately passed off peacefully, with Cleveland Police saying it 'passed without issue' and with 'very minimal traffic disruption'.But the decision to shut schools has already triggered a political row, with Conservatives accusing authorities of allowing criminality and disorder to interfere with children's education. Close friends Theo Rae (left) and Cole Robert Worthy were both killed in the crash Mourners gathered for the funeral of Matusiak 23-year-old Jakub Matusiak last weekMatusiak, 23, was one of the young men in the Volkswagen Passat that crashed into a police car on the A66 last monthConservative MP Laura Trott previously said schools 'should stay open for children to learn', after schools closed ahead of Matusiak's funeral.And Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has now launched an attack on the Government over the repeat closures.In a post on X, she said: 'It's obscene that this is happening again. It is the duty of government to keep schools open, yet the Labour Education Secretary is allowing gang violence to dictate the lives of law-abiding citizens.'Lucy Powell should be ashamed that she has refused to intervene. This sets a terrible precedent and sends a message to criminals and thugs across the country that this Labour government is too weak to keep its people safe from them.'The latest row follows weeks of tension in Middlesbrough after the deaths of Rae and the other young men in the August 22 crash.The collision happened at around 3.39am when a Volkswagen Passat travelled the wrong way along the A66 near Middlesbrough before smashing head-on into a Cleveland Police vehicle.PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were killed in the police car. PC Tom Clough, left, and PC Matthew Blades were killed in the car crash on the A66 Mourners attend the funeral of Jakub Matusiak. Many were dressed in orange while some were masked A memorial for Matusiak last month in South Bank, Middlesbrough, saw flares burned and balloons releasedAll five occupants of the Passat also died: Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Jakub Matusiak, 23, Makai Saddington, 18, and 17-year-olds Theo Rae and Cole Robert Worthy.The crash has since prompted a major police operation into suspected serious and organised criminal activity, with dozens of people arrested in the aftermath.Four of the men in the Passat were previously reported to have had at least 37 convictions between them, while police have been investigating whether members of the group had links to organised crime.Cleveland Police is expected to adopt a similar approach for Rae's funeral, including a visible presence around the area.Police have previously stressed that schools and other organisations have not been ordered to close and that decisions about early finishes have been made by individual organisations following their own assessments.