By Evie Lake

Copyright bbc

Northumbria Police urged anyone with information to contact the force.

TWFRS sent seven appliances to the fire and no causalities were reported.

Labour councillor Phil Tye, chair of TWFRS, said: “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this incident.

“I’d like to thank our firefighters and control staff for their dedication and teamwork during what may be a challenging investigation.”

As well as the MP’s office, charities and businesses operate out of Vermont House.

The charity Niemann-Pick UK (NP UK), which supports patients and families with rare and life-limiting genetic diseases, said it had been told there is “not much left”.

NP UK’s head of communications John Taggart said: “We’ve been in operation for 34 years and it is going to be really hard to recover.

“This is a vital service and we are a small charity.”

OpCourage North The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service also works out of the building, as well as a wedding dress shop.

OpCourage said its face-to-face appointments had been moved to remote consultations or alternative locations, and it would be using a hospital site as a temporary base from Monday.

On social media, Rare Bridal Studio said its studio was unaffected by the fire but it was unable to access the unit due to the active crime scene, meaning it had to postpone appointments with customers.