Mayor calls on Home Secretary to sack Teesside Coroner (From Darlington and Stockton Times)

Mayor calls on Home Secretary to sack Teesside Coroner

6:25pm Thursday 28th February 2013 in News By Graeme Hetherington

THE fight to remove the Teesside coroner from office has moved up a level after the Mayor of Middlesbrough wrote to the Home Secretary demanding he be sacked.

In December, Ray Mallon called on Michael Sheffield to resign with immediate effect amid concerns about the length of time it is taking him to conclude inquests.

However, earlier this month the coroner and Cleveland Police spoke out after the long-running row was brought back into the public domain after they had started to put their past problems behind them.

Now the row has been reignited with Mr Mallon writing directly to Home Secretary Chris Grayling to resolve the issue.

Speaking to Tyne Tees news, Mr Mallon said: “"Mr Sheffield is accountable to no-one. And what I want Mr Grayling to do is intervene and remove him from his post immediately.

"It's the case that people have got to move on. He's been there over 40 years, and what I'd like to see is somebody new come in with new ideas."

Since a review by Middlesbrough Council , Cleveland Police has put in more staff and that backlog has now been reduced.

Another review by the probation service is underway and the force has promised to stick to the recommendations it makes.

A joint statement issued by Cleveland Police and Teesside Coroner’s Service said: "We are just over one month into the review and it is progressing well.

"We have seen a reduction in the backlog, and the staff within the office continue to work hard to deliver the service that supports bereaved families on Teesside."