Reform UK calls for 'proper criminal justice system'
PA MediaReform UK's deputy leader has said four of five men killed in the A66 crash, in which two police officers also died, should have been "nowhere near the streets".
Richard Tice MP said sentences were "not tough enough" and called for a "proper criminal justice system" where "five years should mean five years, 10 years should mean 10 years".
Speaking ahead of the party's annual conference, he said four of those killed in August's wrong-way crash had 37 previous convictions between them, including for assaulting a police officer.
The Ministry of Justice has been asked for comment. The government's prisoner early release scheme, aimed at easing prison overcrowding, is scheduled to start in October.
Two police officers and five young men died in the early hours of 22 August when a car going the wrong way along a dual carriageway at South Bank crashed into a Cleveland Police armed response vehicle.
There have been incidents of public disorder and a number of arrests linked to organised crime following the crash.
"Frankly, I think we've all just been horrified," Tice, the MP for Boston and Skegness, Lincolnshire, said ahead of the party's conference in Birmingham, beginning on Thursday.
"Horrified at the original terrible loss of those two police officers, trying to keep people safe, do their duty, and what we are learning since then is that four of the five young people in that car had 37 convictions between them.
"They should be nowhere near the streets."
'Prepared' for office
Reform UK gained control of councils in Sunderland, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Hartlepool in May's elections.
The party faced criticism a handful of councillors stepped down just weeks after being elected, prompting by-elections.
Tice said: "When you have two-and-a-half thousand councillors, some people will come and some will go, that's the nature of it, none of us are perfect."
He said the party was "very prepared to take office" and "doing a great job".
He also said if Reform UK formed a government it would axe carbon capture and storage projects on Teesside, which he called "a ridiculous waste of money".
The BBC is interviewing the leaders of all of the main political parties ahead of their party conferences.
