FRESH calls were made last night for the resignation of an official at the centre of a near-£8m police budget black hole.

Cleveland Police Authority chairman Ken Walker came under fire from Teesside MP Vera Baird for weeks of silence about the funding crisis.

Mrs Baird, MP for Redcar, claimed she asked Councillor Walker on February 25 and again on March 5 for answers regarding the deficit.

She said last night: "If the answer is that the police authority does not know the answers, Coun Walker should say so and resign."

The force's financial plight was revealed by Middlesbrough mayor Ray Mallon early last month and prompted calls for the resignation of Coun Walker and Chief Constable Sean Price.

Coun Walker said at the time he would quit if an inquiry into the troubled force's finances blamed him for its budget deficit - but insisted he would not resign while the probe was continuing.

Independent investigations into the scandal are being carried out by the Audit Commission, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and the force itself.

Coun Walker could not be contacted for comment last night, but a senior colleague said no member would discuss the case until the results of the reports were known.

But Mrs Baird said: "It is imperative these questions are answered before the Audit Commission reports because Cleveland citizens must be able to see whether the Police Authority's answers bear any relationship with the ones in the report."