Families describe 'pain beyond words' in tributes to police officers killed in crash

Plus: Reform rakes in £20m in donations from crypto investors

Monday, August 24, 2026 Good morning and welcome to your daily news briefing from The Independent   The family of two "hero" police officers who died in a wrong-way crash on the A66 have paid tribute to them, The Independent has revealed that Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has received £20m in donations from cryptocurrency investors since the general election, and our special investigation pieces together the Israeli strike that killed Independent Arabia’s correspondent Mariam Abu Dagga in Gaza. Top stories 1 | Families describe ‘pain beyond words’ in tributes to police officers killed in Middlesbrough collision Read more 2 | Revealed: Reform rakes in £20m in donations from crypto investors Read more 3 | For Mariam: Inside the Israeli hospital strike that killed Gaza journalist – and the possible war crimes behind it Read more 4 | Kemi Badenoch rules out ‘monstrous’ pact with Reform UK Read more 5 | Andy Burnham to hand mayors powers over local planning decisions Read more Read deeper Is this America’s Jason Arday? The Black novelist in an AI scandal The enjoyable exercise better than walking for lifelong fitness Why you suddenly feel colder than it actually is European summer mountain trips to escape to for a breath of fresh air Romeo’s Instagram post shows the tragedy of losing a brother’s love WATCH  Reconstructing the Israeli double-tap strike which killed Mariam Abu Dagga STAT OF THE DAY 9.32 The number of seconds a humanoid robot ran the 100 metres in - beating Usain Bolt's record of 9.58 seconds. Read more QUOTE OF THE DAY "He gave his life in the line of duty, protecting and serving others with courage, dedication and selflessness. The pain of losing him is beyond words, and our lives will never be the same. Neither will the love he gave us ever fade." The wife of PC Matthew Blades paid tribute to her "beloved" husband after he was killed in a devastating crash on Saturday. Read more Today's top deals The Singleton whisky is reduced to under £30 at Amazon – cheers!   Enjoy 15% off at Sync Beauty with discount code: "SUMMER15". Other stories you might like Blueprint for Burnham’s plan to ‘rewire UK’ could be found in Spain The life and light of journalist Mariam Abu Dagga ⁠Why it’s time to stop social media monetising hate Lessons from No 10: When government comms go badly wrong | Lee Cain In this episode of Lessons from No 10, Lee Cain explains the problem of Whitehall’s comms bloat, revisits the “slow-moving car crash” of the pandemic’s communications failures and offers an insider’s view of Burnham’s “social-first” strategy.  Lessons from No 10: When government comms go badly wrong | Lee Cain In this episode of Lessons from No 10, Lee Cain explains the problem of Whitehall’s comms bloat, revisits the “slow-moving car crash” of the pandemic’s communications failures and offers an insider’s view of Burnham’s “social-first” strategy.  LISTEN NOW Join the conversation and follow us Download our apps: Please do not reply directly to this email   You are currently registered to receive The Independent's Morning Headlines newsletter.   To unsubscribe from The Independent's Morning Headlines newsletter, or to manage your email preferences please click here.   This e-mail was sent by Independent Digital News and Media Ltd, 14-18 Finsbury Square, London EC2A 1AH. Registered in England and Wales with company number 07320345 Read our privacy policy and cookie policy