Tributes poured in yesterday after a British war reporter died in a blast in Afghanistan.
Father-of-three Rupert Hamer, 39, was killed on Saturday while embedded with US Marines.
The Sunday Mirror's defence correspondent is the first British journalist to have died in Afghanistan.
The newspaper's photographer Philip Coburn, 43, was hurt in the explosion, which also killed a US Marine and left five more with serious injuries.
Politicians including Gordon Brown and David Cameron paid tribute to Mr Hamer, described by colleagues as "hugely popular".
Mr Hamer died of his wounds at the scene north-west of Nawa in Helmand province.
Mr Coburn remains in a serious but stable condition, the Ministry of Defence said.
The pair were accompanying a patrol when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device.
According to the Sunday Mirror, the experienced journalists flew to the region on New Year's Eve for a trip scheduled to last a month, covering the start of the US Marines' surge into southern Afghanistan.
Mr Hamer, who was married to Helen, had three children, aged six, five and 19 months and had worked for the newspaper for 12 years, taking on the defence correspondent role in 2004.
Mr Coburn has been at the Sunday Mirror for eight years.
In response to Mr Hamer's death and Mr Coburn's injuries, Mr Brown said: "I was deeply saddened by this tragic news, and my heartfelt thoughts and sympathies are with the families, friends and colleagues of Rupert and Philip.
"Their courage, skill and dedication to reporting from the frontline was incredibly important and ensured that the world could see and read about our heroic troops.
"Their professionalism and commitment to our forces will not be forgotten."
Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said Mr Hamer and Mr Coburn covered his last trip to Afghanistan.
He said: "I got to know them well and I was impressed by their hard work and professionalism.
"My thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the families, friends and colleagues of both men at this extremely distressing time.
"As a defence correspondent, Rupert Hamer was in regular contact with press officers at the MoD.
"I know they had great respect for his work and the news of his death has been met with great sadness amongst us all."
One of Mr Hamer's last assignments was organising a special Christmas edition of the paper with messages from loved ones, which was sent to troops three weeks ago.
"The paper was very well received by troops on the ground and its success is testament both to Rupert's hard work and his understanding of service personnel," Mr Ainsworth said.
Tory leader David Cameron said: "British journalists regul-arly risk their own safety to report on the war in Afghanistan.