A TEES Valley council has clarified that is has not asked the Government to implement tighter Covid-19 restrictions, adding that MPs suggestions it has are creating confusion.

In a joint statement, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council Leader and Deputy Leader, Cllr Mary Lanigan and Cllr Karen King, addressed the notion put forward by five Tees Valley Conservative MPs that the region's local authorities were seeking stronger restrictions.

The MPs, including Simon Clarke, Jacob Young, Matt Vickers, Peter Gibson and Paul Howell, had written to Tees Valley council leaders to say they were "very concerned" by the reported prospect of the councils voluntarily seeking to impose additional lockdown measures.

In response, Cllr Lanigan and Cllr King said this evening: “We will make the best decision in the interest of the residents of our borough after taking advice from our Public Health team.

"We will always put the safety of our residents first and we would always seek to work with them to do this.

"We will also balance this with the needs of the local economy and protecting jobs and prosperity.

“We are keen to work with our key partners and always seek to do so.

"We were disappointed to see the MPs suggest that we were ready to ask for further restrictions when that was not the case.

"This kind of claim undermines the work of councils and creates confusion at a time when the public needs clarity about what they are asked to do to keep themselves safe.”