The Independent’s Alex Croft wins prestigious young journalist award for foreign reporting

The Independent’s foreign news reporter Alex Croft has won a prestigious award for his reporting at the Press Awards 2026.

Alex, 25, was named in the Press Awards 30 Under 30 on Wednesday for his reporting on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza among other global issues.

The judges highlighted several exceptional pieces of work Alex has produced in his role as foreign news reporter in the past 18 months.

In an exclusive report on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Alex spent four months cultivating relationships with aid workers to gain rare access to two former child soldiers. His resulting piece generated immense public engagement and Save the Children and Christian Aid used it in international outreach programmes.

He also broke the story on the rapid rise of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) in Gaza, meticulously cross-referencing medical data with frontline accounts.

And he spearheaded The Independent’s Ukraine in Numbers project, gathering vast datasets and interviewing experts to collate the conflict’s human and economic toll.

The judges said: “Alex has had some amazing opportunities to undertake reporting from world hot spots and has delivered with assurance and insight beyond his years.”

Alex said: “I’m delighted to have been chosen for the Press Awards 30 under 30 this year. It was a real surprise and it’s such an honour to be surrounded by so many amazingly talented journalists.

“A huge thanks to all my editors and colleagues who have all been part of developing me as a reporter and helping produce these important reports.”

Assistant editor Caroline Gammell said Alex combines “tenacious reporting, sensitive handling of contacts, excellent prose and visual storytelling through data”.

“He is dogged in pursuit of a story and has used his considerable talents to tell vital stories from around the world,” she added.