UK PM Andy Burnham leads tributes after 2 police officers among 7 killed in northeast England

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham. Tributes are being paid to two police officers who were among seven people killed in a head-on collision on the A66 near Middlesbrough in the early hours of Saturday.Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he was “devastated” by the deaths of PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, who were on duty when their marked Cleveland Police vehicle was struck by a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way.“My thoughts are with the families and loved ones of everyone involved, and with everyone at Cleveland Police,” Burnham said, while thanking emergency services who responded to the crash and urging people to avoid speculation.Seven killed in A66 horror crashThe crash took place at around 3.39am in South Bank, near Middlesbrough. Five young men travelling in the Volkswagen Passat were also killed. They are yet to be formally identified by authorities and are believed to have been in their late teens or early 20s.All seven people in the two vehicles were pronounced dead at the scene.Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood described the incident as “devastating”, saying police officers put their safety on the line every day to protect their communities. She extended he...