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A class-action lawsuit naming the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and the former operator of a long-term care home that was the site of Manitoba’s deadliest COVID-19 outbreak is going ahead.
Court of King’s Bench Associate Chief Justice Shane Perlmutter has certified the lawsuit launched by children of Ethel Lewsey, 99, and Manuel Calisto, 88, two of 56 residents whose deaths were linked to an outbreak at the Maples Long Term Care Home that was declared on Oct. 20, 2020, and lasted until Jan. 12, 2021.
The class includes anyone who contracted COVID-19 as a Maples resident during the outbreak, as well as the estate of those who died then as well as their family members as defined under the Fatal Accidents Act.
“There is some basis in fact for the determination of the alleged breaches as common issues,” Perlmutter said in a Feb. 2 decision certifying the class action.
“It is uncontested that Maples had the highest attack rate (78.5 per cent) and percentage of deaths (23.5 per cent) of the 10 personal care homes in the category of large personal care homes in Winnipeg,” he wrote.
During the nearly three-month-long Maples outbreak, 157 residents living in the 200-bed facility tested positive for the virus, according to a report commissioned by Manitoba Health. As well, 74 staff working at the home tested positive during the outbreak.
The outbreak prompted an external review that made 17 recommendations for the care home, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, and for Manitoba’s health incident command structure and health department.
‘We cannot forget what happened’: plaintiff
The representative plaintiffs for the class action, Eddie Calisto-Tavares and Lawrence Lewsey, allege Revera, the for-profit operator then in charge of the care home, was negligent and did not adequately plan for or respond to the outbreak.
They claimed the Winnipeg health authority failed to immediately address staffing shortages in the care home, among other issues.
Calisto-Tavares received special permission to enter Maples during the COVID-19 lockdown and care for her father, Manuel Calisto, on what were his last days alive after contracting the virus.
Eddie Calisto-Tavares was granted permission to enter the Maples Long Term Care Home and care for her father during a COVID-19 outbreak at the facility. (Walther Bernal/CBC)
The certification of the class action lawsuit brings a moment of joy for Calisto-Tavares, who wants the court process to bring awareness of what residents experienced at the long-term care home during the outbreak.
“We cannot forget what happened. Those residents, regardless of age and regardless of where they were in their life cycle, they mattered,” she told CBC on Saturday.
She is hopeful recounting her father’s experience and those of other class action members will act as a reminder of lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, and she hopes that higher standards of care will follow the suit.
“I’m now a senior. I’m 67 years old and I have no idea what the future holds. But while I have a voice … I will continue to fight for this,” she said.
Darryl Singer, head of the class action group at Diamond & Diamond Lawyers, said his team and the representative plaintiffs felt a sense of “elation” after the class-action lawsuit was certified.
Singer said it’s often difficult for class-action lawsuits to “get over that hump” of the certification process. Now that it will be moving forward, he said that the “real work is going to begin.”
He said his clients are “seeking change” alongside financial compensation.
The allegations in the lawsuit have not been tested in court.
Shared Health and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority told CBC News they can’t comment on this matter because it is before the courts.
CBC has contacted Revera for comment.
Extendicare took over the long-term care homes Revera was operating in Ontario and Manitoba in 2023.
In 2024, the Ontario Superior Court certified six class-action lawsuits on behalf of long-term care residents who contracted COVID-19 during the pandemic, including one naming Revera.
No 10 claims Starmer ‘positive, confident and determined’, despite resignation of two key aides within 24 hours
The No 10 lobby briefing has just finished. Here are the main points.
Keir Starmer is “positive, confident and determined”, the PM’s spokespeson told journalists. He said:
The prime minister is getting on with the job of delivering change across the country. That was the tone and the content of his address to staff in No 10 this morning.
Asked about the PM’s mood, the spokesperson said:
He was upbeat, confident in his speech to staff this morning. He spoke about how he’s driven by the values of public service. He talked about how that was what brought him into politics later in life after a career, most recently as director of public prosecutions … [He was] positive, confident and determined.
When it was put to the spokesperson there were reports saying Starmer was very depressed at the end of last week, and that he was even contemplating resigning, the spokesperson replied:
That’s not the prime minister who appeared in front of staff this morning.
The question was referring to stories like this one in the Times on Saturday, which said: One cabinet minister predicted that Starmer could quit on Monday after he had taken the opportunity to reflect on the events of recent days with his wife, Victoria.
The spokesperson played down suggestions that Allan was sacked, pointing out that Allan said in his statement (see 11.15am) he had decided to stand down.
The spokesperson played down suggestions that Allan may have quit because he is worried about embarrassing messages between him and Peter Mandelson being released as a result of the humble address motion passed by MPs on Wednesday. It is understood that the process of finding information that will have to be disclosed has only just got underway.
Key events
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, is holding a press conference in Glasgow at 2.30pm. There is speculation that he may use this to call for Keir Starmer’s resignation. Chris Mason, the BBC’s political editor, has just told the World at One that Sarwar’s office have been offered the chance to say he won’t be doing that, but that they’re not replying.
Tim Allan does not seem to be working his notice. Here is the out of office on his WhatsApp.
Allan’s WhatsApp out of office Photograph: Tim Allan
Darren Jones expected to announce post-Mandelson tougher standards rules in statement to MPs this afternoon
Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the PM, will make a statement in the Commons later being billed as an “update on standards in public life”.
This is expected to include proposals that would beef up vetting procedures for people being appointed to the post that Peter Mandelson held, ambassador to the US.
In an article for the Guardian at the weekend, Gordon Brown, the former prime minister, set out his own proposals on this topic. He said:
This week’s events show why it is also imperative that the government bring in a fully accountable system for vetting major appointments such as those of Mandelson, and one that allows public scrutiny. Before the first world war, an incoming minister had to immediately put himself up for re-election as a constituency MP as a condition of taking up government office. A minister making executive decisions was seen as different from a legislator scrutinising them. It is because we have had since then no satisfactory means of vetting ministerial or other major appointments that mistakes are so easily made.
The way forward is to hold parliamentary hearings, similar to those in the US Senate, for newly appointed ministers to ensure the right questions are asked and answered in public about present and past interests and conduct. We already have formal parliamentary hearings for new members of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee. It is a system of formal vetting that should extend at a minimum to senior ambassadors. If it had been in place last year, it would have led to a very different ambassadorial appointment.
The Jones statement will start at around 4.15pm, after an urgent question on the sentencing of Jimmy Lai.
Green leader Zack Polanski says Starmer should resign for ‘totally unacceptable failure of leadership’
Zack Polanski, the Green party leader, has called for Keir Starmer’s resignation. In a statement, he said:
[Morgan] McSweeney needed to go, but so too does Starmer. He knew about Mandelson’s ongoing relationship with a convicted child sex offender. This was a totally unacceptable failure of leadership.
This whole saga also demonstrates how broken and compromised our politics is and that Labour can’t and won’t fix it. We need a different kind of politics – one where powerful, wealthy and corrupt men are shown the door, where exploitation is rooted out and inequality tackled. This is how we make hope normal again.
No 10 claims Starmer ‘positive, confident and determined’, despite resignation of two key aides within 24 hours
The No 10 lobby briefing has just finished. Here are the main points.
Keir Starmer is “positive, confident and determined”, the PM’s spokespeson told journalists. He said:
The prime minister is getting on with the job of delivering change across the country. That was the tone and the content of his address to staff in No 10 this morning.
Asked about the PM’s mood, the spokesperson said:
He was upbeat, confident in his speech to staff this morning. He spoke about how he’s driven by the values of public service. He talked about how that was what brought him into politics later in life after a career, most recently as director of public prosecutions … [He was] positive, confident and determined.
When it was put to the spokesperson there were reports saying Starmer was very depressed at the end of last week, and that he was even contemplating resigning, the spokesperson replied:
That’s not the prime minister who appeared in front of staff this morning.
The question was referring to stories like this one in the Times on Saturday, which said: One cabinet minister predicted that Starmer could quit on Monday after he had taken the opportunity to reflect on the events of recent days with his wife, Victoria.
The spokesperson played down suggestions that Allan was sacked, pointing out that Allan said in his statement (see 11.15am) he had decided to stand down.
The spokesperson played down suggestions that Allan may have quit because he is worried about embarrassing messages between him and Peter Mandelson being released as a result of the humble address motion passed by MPs on Wednesday. It is understood that the process of finding information that will have to be disclosed has only just got underway.
The Conservatives are urging Labour MPs to replace Keir Starmer. In a statement about the resignation of Tim Allan, Matt Vickers, the Tory deputy chair, said:
The rats are abandoning the sinking ship that is Keir Starmer’s premiership.
Labour MPs should stop moaning and put him out of his misery. The country deserves so much better than this weak, chaotic government.
Jason Grovesfrom the Daily Mail says he is surprised cabinet ministers have not been speaking in public today to defend Keir Starmer.
Distinct lack of cabinet ministers taking to the airwaves this morning to defend the beleaguered PM in his hour of need. Happy to leave it to unelected junior minister Jacqui Smith to try and put a positive gloss on things…
Where are the Cabinet? Not a peep out of any of them in public in the last 24 turbulent hours apart from Pat McFadden arguing there was ‘no point whatsoever’ in Morgan McSweeney resigning, shortly before he did
What commentators are saying about Starmer’s plight
You can read all the Guardian’s coverage of the crisis in No 10 here.
And here are extracts from articles by other journalists and commentators published overnight or this morning. These are all articles filed before it was announced that Tim Allan had resigned.
All that said, there are very few people near the top of this administration who respect the voters as McSweeney does and who dragged Starmer out of his soft-left, legalistic mindset to get tough on immigration or consider welfare reform, and what follows is much more likely to be a wishy-washy Old Labour tax-and-spend trend with Starmer, or whoever replaces him.
There is a parallel here with Theresa May and her twin ‘chiefs’, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill. After the 2017 general election, where May surrendered David Cameron’s hard-won majority, the cabinet demanded their heads. May was a creation of ‘Nick and Fi’ every bit as much as Starmer was a creature of McSweeney’s design. Removing the aides who gave her a vision and purpose did nothing for May, who stumbled on, disastrously for Britain, for two more years, shorn of purpose or political skills.
Any Labour MP who thinks they are in a better place to win an election or win over the voters now than they were yesterday needs their head testing. One way of replacing McSweeney would be to bring in Jonathan Powell as chief of staff, the role he performed for Tony Blair, but my understanding is he’s happier running foreign affairs.
Cabinet ministers believe the move will ultimately leave the prime minister “weaker” even if it buys him some time with furious Labour MPs.
“It’s his last card,” one said. “He can only do this once. He is so much weaker because he doesn’t have Morgan to bail him out any more.”
Another cabinet minister said: “We’re asking the question of whether he will be there at the end of the week. There’s a feeling he could stand down at any moment. The next 48 hours is going to be crucial.”
Confusion endures over what McSweeney, who joined Labour in 1998 after being inspired by the Good Friday agreement, truly represented. The man described to me by Blue Labour’s Maurice Glasman as “one of ours” is also cast as the protégée of Mandelson whose New Labour project was yesterday damned by Glasman as “an alien body that took over the party”.
But this apparent paradox is easily resolved: the long war against Corbynism and the Conservatives had the effect of uniting Labour’s right in a tactical alliance. As a consequence, tensions and contradictions went unresolved. A campaigning project was never developed into a governing one. There is no better proof of this than the government’s tax lock, a New Labour-inspired device that left it struggling to raise scarce amounts from pensioners, farmers and pubs, undercutting McSweeney’s supposed communitarian impulses. The appointment of Mandelson similarly reflected an administration better at restaging the past than at inventing the future.
Rachel Sylvesterat the Observer says, although the resignation of McSweeney offers Starmer a chance for a reset, it is probably too late.
This could be the chance for a “reset” if Starmer dares to take it, an opportunity for the prime minister to define his leadership on his own terms. He is also being urged by senior Labour figures to replace Chris Wormold, the cabinet secretary to improve the performance of the government.
It is unlikely to be enough. The Labour leader may have bought a little time by sacrificing McSweeney but he has also highlighted his vulnerability. Last week one former Cabinet minister told me: “If Morgan is in trouble then Keir is in trouble. Morgan created Keir and Keir is totally dependent on him, if he gets rid of Morgan it’s game over.”
Already MPs are asking why, if the chief of staff has resigned over his advice to appoint Mandelson, the prime minister is not quitting for actually taking the decision. “Morgan had to go,” one Labour peer said. “He’s been a disaster, everyone thinks he’s a genius but he’s been a third rate Mandelson, not nearly as clever as people think. He should have gone ages ago. But it’s not going to be enough to save Keir.”
-The extraordinary thing is Labour has decided to bury Starmer without any plan for a replacement or any credible successor. Rayner is seen as the frontrunner but Labour figures predict a free-for-all, tipping at least six others to go for the job, from Miliband to Shabana Mahmood and Yvette Cooper. It says it all that Al Carns is on runners and riders lists.
-An ally of Starmer warned that if Rayner or Miliband take over Britain would face a market and economic shock. They said if Starmer is ousted a new PM should call an election as they would have no legitimacy to lead the country.
-The Labour right is flailing as it tries to stop Rayner. Once upon a time they’d have backed Wes Streeting, but they’ve all fallen out and Streeting is now tainted by his own close links to Mandelson. Several suggested John Healey should take over. One pitched him as the only sane person left in the Labour party and the only one with any international credibility.
Starmer tells No 10 staff politics can be ‘force for good’ and says government moving forward ‘with confidence’
Keir Starmer has delivered a message to Downing Street staff telling them that he believes politics can be a “force for good” and that he wants the government to go forward “with confidence”.
From the extracts released by Labour, Starmer gave no indication that he intends to resign. But he did not seem to have a striking new message either, and he did not mention the departure of Tim Allan.
Here are the key quotes, from the briefing supplied to journalists.
The thing that makes me most angry is the undermining of the belief that politics can be a force for good and can change lives.
I have been absolutely clear that I regret the decision that I made to appoint Peter Mandelson. And I’ve apologised to the victims which is the right thing to do.
Starmer also told staff that they were united in having “public duty” as their “driving purpose”.
Starmer paid tribute to Morgan McSweeney, saying he would not have been able to change Labour and win the election without his former chief of staff. He said:
I’ve known Morgan for eight years as a colleague and as a friend. We have run up and down every political football pitch that is across the country. We’ve been in every battle that we needed to be in together. Fighting that battle.
We changed the Labour party together. We won a general election together. And none of that would have been possible without Morgan McSweeney.
His dedication, his commitment and his loyalty to our party and our country was second to none. And I want to thank him for his service.
In just a few months, we start the work of lifting half a million children out of poverty. A massive thing to do in this country because that means that lives will be changed.
For decades to come, children who otherwise wouldn’t have fair chance and fair opportunity. Poverty holds children back like nothing else on earth. And so getting rid of child poverty opens up opportunities for so many.
We must prove that politics can be a force for good. I believe it can. I believe it is. We go forward from here. We go with confidence as we continue changing the country.
Here is our story, by Peter Walker and Pippa Crerar, about Tim Allan’s resignation.
Allan’s resignation leaves Starmer in need of his 5th No 10 communications chief since election
Keir Starmer now has to find his fifth No 10 communications director since he became prime minister. Before Tim Allan, he also had: Matthew Doyle, who is now a peer, but embroiled in a controversy about his support for a Labour friend who had been charged with having indecent images of young girls; James Lyons, a former journalist who had worked in comms jobs for NHS England and for TikTok; and Stephanie Driver.
The communications director job at No 10 is a political post, held by Labour figure.
Starmer also has a civil service spokespeson who briefs the lobby every day. And last year Starmer appointed the former Sun editor David Dinsmore as head of government communications, another civil service post.
US not trying to dismantle Nato or undermine current world order, US ambassador says in response to MSC’s criticism report
US ambassador to Nato Matthew Whitaker is responding to some of the report’s findings now, saying he “completely rejects everything I just heard,” after the Munich Security Conference report editors warned that the greatest challenge to the liberal international order is “coming from within” through the dramatic shift in the US administration’s thinking about its alliances (11:54).
But Whitakerinsists the US does not want to dismantle Nato or undermine the existing alliances as implied by the report’s authors, but merely to “balance” the way the defence burden lies on different Nato countries by pushing European allies to “do more and to be capable and strong, because that strength is what guarantees the peace.”
“That’s the first thing I reject; we’re trying to make Nato stronger, not to withdraw or reject Nato, but make it work like it was intended as an alliance of 32 strong and capable allies,” he said.
Whitaker also said that on trade, the US wanted to challenge the “unfair” trade arrangement with Europe, which “turned into Europe taking advantage and running huge trade surplus with the US.”
He also said that the US was frustrated that “there is a lot of discussion and not a lot of action” in Europe, with allies spending more time to discuss issues rather than address them.
Whitaker says that on security, the European partners need to actually step up their defence spending and show they can “follow through” on their promises, including the new Nato spending targets.
He then gets pushed on Greenland, and insists the US interest in the territory is only about ensuring that Greenland – whether as part of Denmark or an independent country in the future – needs to be able to defend itself from Russia and China.
“The Chinese have taken two runs, at least at Greenland; one through the ports trying to invest in the ports and second, through trying to invest in the airport, and so these are real issues,” he claims (something that has been repeatedly questioned by the Danish officials.)
He then distances himself a bit from Trump’s aggressive rhetoric there, saying that he learned during the first Trump administration that “responding to every single Truth Social or tweet by president Trump would be a full-time job,” but insists the underlying security analysis is sound.
Key events
Whitaker’s comments on Nato, EU offer taster of what’s to come up in Munich this week – snap analysis
Jakub Krupa
I think we got a good taster of what sort of policy discussions and themes are going to come up this weekend as key EU, US security and foreign policy experts meet in Munich.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio, fresh from his Olympic appearance in Italy, will be the highest US representative at the event and is expected to deliver a speech at some point on Saturday.
Doubt it will be quite as combative, or “provocative” as Whitaker put it, as that JD Vance speech last year, but make sure to save the date and follow our coverage from Munich over the weekend.
EU needs to ‘simplify’ and encourage ‘risk-taking,’ US ambassador to Nato says
US Nato ambassador Whitaker also talks about the US view of the European Union, which he jokes is “my favourite thing to complain about … in response to Europeans complaining about the United States.”
“We need the EU to simplify. We would call deregulation. You call it simplification. Whatever you want to call it, you’re going to have to encourage capital formation, risk taking,” he says.
“The types of things that are just in the American bloodstream, we’re going to have to see that happen not only in the defence technology, which is what I know the best, but just in, in, in technology generally.”
He says Europe loses too much talent globally – including to the US – and needs to get better at harnessing it or it is “going to be left behind”.
US Nato ambassador rejects Zelenskyy’s suggestion of US setting deadline for peace deal on Ukraine
US Nato ambassador Matthew Whitaker also denies the suggestion that the US has set a new deadline for peace talks on Ukraine.
Whitaker says “that June deadline was mentioned by president Zelenskyy,” and adds “I don’t think that is anything that the United States has put out there.”
“We want the fighting to end. We want both sides to come together and agree to a peace deal. We’d like it sooner rather than later, and … we just want … to see the suffering and the killing end in Ukraine.”
He added that deadlines tend to be “very dangerous” in this setting, adding:
“We want a peace deal done.
I think we’ll just get this done as soon as it’s ready to get done. But ultimately, both sides, the Russians and the Ukrainians, are going to have to agree to any deal that’s hammered out.”
US expects Europe to ‘share burden and ultimately take over conventional defence’ of European continent, US Nato ambassador says
There are some more good lines coming from US Nato ambassador, Matthew Whitaker, as he gets pushed on the US intentions on Europe’s security and defence during the MSC ‘kick-off’ briefing.
He gets asked about why US defence secretary Pete Hegseth is going to skip this week’s Nato ministerial on Thursday, and he says that allies should not read too much into this, as “we have a big world and, only one secretary of war and only one secretary of state, and they have a lot of places to be.”
He says the undersecretary, Elbridge Colby, is “the perfect person” to talk about the US defence strategy and the US view on Europe “right now and going forward” to “talk about capabilities that may need to be ultimately transitioned out of Europe and replaced by European capabilities.”
He says the US expects Europe “to equalise, as we expect them to be stronger and to share the burden of European security with the United States and ultimately take over the conventional defence of the European continent, together with the United States overarching nuclear umbrella.”
Expect red lights to go off (again) in some countries, particularly in central and eastern Europe, as they read these quotes above.
Ukraine ‘top of agenda,’ but Europe should focus on how to truly respond to US challenges, MSC chair says
Munich Security Conference’s Wolfgang Ischinger also gives a preview of what’s to come this week, saying he “certainly hopes that this coming weekend will demonstrate that Ukraine deserves to be at the top of the agenda for a variety of reasons.”
He says Russia continues to “pretend to be willing to negotiate” on Ukraine, while it “continues to … territories the civilian population” instead, and he says this remains the biggest challenge for Europe “in a long time.”
He picks up on Whitaker’s comments earlier too, and says he hopes the MSC will offer an opportunity for Europe to discuss how to move on from discussions to taking “more credible, meaningful decisions on foreign policy and security.”
“I think the United States is giving us the best ever reason to take these questions seriously,” he says.
But he also pointedly says that the US interest in Greenland has proven to be “a public relations disaster,” dramatically affecting “the respect that the US deserves to enjoy in Europe.”
He’s right there: a recent YouGov poll showed that the US president’s attempted Greenland grab has succeeded in turning Europeans solidly against his country, the pollster’s latest survey found.
Large majorities in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Great Britain all declared an unfavourable opinion.
US not trying to dismantle Nato or undermine current world order, US ambassador says in response to MSC’s criticism report
US ambassador to Nato Matthew Whitaker is responding to some of the report’s findings now, saying he “completely rejects everything I just heard,” after the Munich Security Conference report editors warned that the greatest challenge to the liberal international order is “coming from within” through the dramatic shift in the US administration’s thinking about its alliances (11:54).
But Whitakerinsists the US does not want to dismantle Nato or undermine the existing alliances as implied by the report’s authors, but merely to “balance” the way the defence burden lies on different Nato countries by pushing European allies to “do more and to be capable and strong, because that strength is what guarantees the peace.”
“That’s the first thing I reject; we’re trying to make Nato stronger, not to withdraw or reject Nato, but make it work like it was intended as an alliance of 32 strong and capable allies,” he said.
Whitaker also said that on trade, the US wanted to challenge the “unfair” trade arrangement with Europe, which “turned into Europe taking advantage and running huge trade surplus with the US.”
He also said that the US was frustrated that “there is a lot of discussion and not a lot of action” in Europe, with allies spending more time to discuss issues rather than address them.
Whitaker says that on security, the European partners need to actually step up their defence spending and show they can “follow through” on their promises, including the new Nato spending targets.
He then gets pushed on Greenland, and insists the US interest in the territory is only about ensuring that Greenland – whether as part of Denmark or an independent country in the future – needs to be able to defend itself from Russia and China.
“The Chinese have taken two runs, at least at Greenland; one through the ports trying to invest in the ports and second, through trying to invest in the airport, and so these are real issues,” he claims (something that has been repeatedly questioned by the Danish officials.)
He then distances himself a bit from Trump’s aggressive rhetoric there, saying that he learned during the first Trump administration that “responding to every single Truth Social or tweet by president Trump would be a full-time job,” but insists the underlying security analysis is sound.
70 heads of state, government expected at Munich Security Conference this weekend
Former German ambassador to the US, Wolfgang Ischinger, is now giving a quick briefing on what to expect from the Munich Security Conference this weekend.
He says there will be some 70 heads of state and government, more than 140 government ministers, and more than 40 heads of international organisations.
The proceedings will be opened by German prime minister Friedrich Merz in his first MSC speech in this role, as he is expected to “set the tone” for the forum.
Ischinger also confirms some names of the top decision-makers attending, including French president Emmanuel Macron, UK prime minister Keir Starmer, Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk, and Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Nato secretary general Mark Rutte will also be present.
It was earlier announced that the US delegation will be led by US secretary of state Marco Rubio.
Jakub Krupa
Oh, and this blog will be coming to you from Munich on Friday and over the weekend, so we will bring you all the key lines from the MSC.
If any of this blog’s readers are coming too, let me know and say hello!
Europe entering ‘prolonged era of confrontation,’ Munich report warns
Jakub Krupa
In its section on Europe, the Munich Security Conference report has also warned that the continent was entering “a prolonged era of confrontation, as Russia’s full-scale war of aggression and expanding hybrid campaign dismantle the remnants of the post-cold war cooperative security order.”
Estonian soldiers on the Tapa range in Estonia, where they are working alongside British soldiers who are taking part in Exercise Winter Camp, which is part of Operation Cabrit, the UK’s contribution to Nato’s Forward Land Forces in Estonia and Poland. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA
It also added that:
“Washington’s gradual retreat from its traditional role as Europe’s primary security guarantor – reflected in wavering support for Ukraine and threatening rhetoric on Greenland – is heightening Europe’s sense of insecurity and exposing its unfinished transition from security consumer to security provider.”
The report also included a series of stark security warnings, noting that “some intelligence agencies estimate that Russia could reconstitute its forces for a ‘regional war’ in the Baltic Sea area within two years of a potential ceasefire in Ukraine – and for a ‘local’ one against a single neighbour within six months.”
It noted that “the first signs of this widening of the battlefield are already visible,” with “a growing number of suspected Russian incidents, including sabotage, vandalism, cyber-attacks, and arson.”
“Analysts widely view these operations as deliberate efforts by Moscow to probe Europe’s defences, sow division, intimidate publics, and weaken support for Ukraine by diverting attention toward domestic security.Europe now faces the challenge of proactively deterring further provocations while avoiding inadvertent escalation.”
The study also pointedly warned that Europe’s reliance on US security was posing new risks as the Trump administration has been dramatically changing its priorities and shifting away from Europe.
“European leaders have long refrained from overt criticism of US policies. Instead, they have pursued a dual strategy: striving to keep Washington engaged at almost any cost while cautiously preparing for greater autonomy. …
Recent confrontations over Greenland, in turn, suggest that Europe’s strategy of accommodation may be reaching its limits.”
Setting out its recommendations for the continent, the report said:
“Given the urgency of these tasks and the limits of consensus-based decision-making, progress will depend on courageous leadership coalitions.
Smaller avant-gardes, such as the Weimar Plus countries (France, Germany, Poland, and the UK) or the European Group of Five (the former plus Italy), will be essential to drive defense industrial consolidation, articulate a coherent European vision for Ukraine, and prepare the EU for enlargement. These steps will involve sharing costs and political risk.
But continued hesitation would leave Europe exposed in a gray zone between competing spheres of influence – steadily eroding its ability to shape its own destiny.”
Europe’s ‘painful’ realisation it must be bolder with US set out in security report
Patrick Wintour
Diplomatic editor
Europe has come to the painful realisation that it needs to be more assertive and more militarily independent from an authoritarian US administration that no longer shares a commitment to liberal democratic norms and values, a report prepared by the Munich Security Conference asserts.
A mural titled ‘Divided by Oligarchy’ by anonymous Norwegian street artist Toddel, depicting US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin seated at a table next to a map of a divided Ukraine, is seen on a wall in Krakow, Poland. Photograph: Artur Widak/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
The report sets the scene for an all-out ideological confrontation with the Trump White House at the high-level annual meeting of security policy specialists, which starts on Friday.
In a now infamous speech to last year’s MSC, the US vice-president, JD Vance, claimed European elites were suppressing free speech and “opening the floodgates” to mass migration. The address marked the moment Europe realised the Trump administration would no longer be a reliable trading and security partner.
US vice-president JD Vance speaks during the 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC), in Munich, Germany. Photograph: Ronald Wittek/EPA
Since then European leaders and Donald Trump’s team have waged a series of running battles over topics including the US push to force Ukraine to make territorial concessions to Russia, Trump’s threats to seize Greenland, and a series of protectionist US measures ranging from tariff barriers to inward investment bans.
Vance is not expected in Munich this year, but the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and a congressional delegation are scheduled to attend.
Polling commissioned for the report shows Europeans are increasingly willing to operate without US leadership and say it is no longer necessary.
The MSC report accuses Trump of having a lust for destruction and of siding with Vladimir Putin.
“Most of Europe is watching the United States’ descent into ‘competitive authoritarianism’ with rising concern or even horror, wondering how resilient US democracy really is,” the report says.
The MSC report suggests European leaders need to adapt to the techniques of the Trump administration and be more daring in how they make decisions and communicate.
“Effectively pushing back against the demolition men requires much more political courage and innovative thought. The actors defending international rules and institutions need to be just as bold as the actors who seek to destroy them,” it says.
The report adds that “relying on sterile communiqués, predictable conferences, and cautious diplomacy” in a world where the opponents have become more ruthless and much more innovative is a recipe for failure.
Norwegian ambassador resigns amid scrutiny of her family’s Epstein links
Elsewhere, a Norwegian ambassador who was involved in Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts in the 1990s and most recently served in Jordan has resigned as she faces scrutiny over her contacts with Jeffrey Epstein, the country’s foreign ministry said.
Norway’s ambassador to the United Nations Mona Juul address a UN security council meeting on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photograph: John Minchillo/AP
The ministry announced Mona Juul’s resignation on Sunday evening, days after she was suspended as Norway’s ambassador to Jordan. That followed reports that Epstein left the children of Juul and her husband, Terje Rød-Larsen, $10m in a will drawn up shortly before his death by suicide in a New York prison in 2019, AP reported.
Foreign minister Espen Barth Eide said Juul’s decision was “correct and necessary.” Her contact with the convicted sex offender showed a “serious lapse in judgment,” he said, adding that “the case makes it difficult to restore the trust that the role requires.”
A ministry investigation into Juul’s knowledge of and contact with Epstein will continue, and Juul will continue discussions with the ministry “so that the matter can be clarified,” Eide said.
AP noted that the latest batch of Epstein files has cast an unflattering spotlight on several prominent Norwegian figures. Crown Princess Mette-Marit on Friday issued an apology “to all of you whom I have disappointed” after documents offered more details of her relationship with Epstein.
As reported last week, the country’s economic crimes unit has also opened a corruption investigation into former prime minister Thorbjørn Jagland (Europe Live, Friday).
Germany charges Ukrainian national over alleged Russian-inspired parcel bomb plot
Meanwhile, Germany has charged a Ukrainian national in connection with allegations of a plot linked to Russian intelligence to detonate parcel packages in Europe, the country’s prosecutors said in a statement.
The prosecutors allege that the man, identified only as Yevhen B., worked with the Russian intelligence services and two other people to send GPS-enabled tracking devices from Cologne to Ukraine to “gather information about shipping routes and transport procedures at the parcel service provider and later to send packages containing incendiary devices.”
“These packages were meant to ignite in Germany or elsewhere en route to parts of Ukraine not occupied by Russia, causing as much damage as possible to undermine the public’s sense of security,” they said.
EU leaders send congratulations to Portugal’s president-elect Seguro
Several EU leaders have taken to social media this morning to pass their congratulations to the Portuguese president-elect Seguro, praising him for big win over his far-right rival.
European Council president António Costa, who beat Seguro to be the Socialist Party’s candidate for prime minister in 2015, said:
“I congratulate António José Seguro on his election as President of the Portuguese Republic and wish him every success in the exercise of his mandate. Today, the Portuguese people demonstrated their commitment to democracy, reaffirming Portugal as a pillar of European humanism.”
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said:
“Congratulations, António José Seguro, on your election as President of Portugal. The Portuguese citizens have spoken and, in the face of devastation caused by the storms, demonstrated remarkable democratic resilience. Portugal’s voice for our shared European values remains strong.”
Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez said:
“Congratulations, António José Seguro, the new President of Portugal! Social democracy advances with your victory.”
A number of other national leaders, including Romania’s president Nicușor Dan and Croatia’s Andrej Plenković, also sent their congratulations.
Portugal elects socialist as president but far-right rival takes record vote share
Sam Jones
Meanwhile in Portugal, the moderate socialist António José Seguro won a resounding victory in the second round of the country’s presidential election on Sunday, triumphing over his far-right opponent, André Ventura, whose Chega party still managed to take a record share of the vote.
Presidential candidate and moderate Socialist Antonio Jose Seguro waves to supporters following early results on the day of the presidential election, in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. Photograph: Pedro Nunes/Reuters
The vote to elect a successor to the outgoing president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, was marked by a cross-party push to head off the prospect of a Chega victory, with some senior rightwing figures throwing their weight behind the centre-left candidate to keep Ventura from entering the presidential palace.
Seguro won 66.8% of votes to Ventura’s 33.2% in the election, which went ahead despite weeks of disruption caused by deadly storms.
Several voters travelled to the polling station by boat after flooding in the Cartaxo area of Portugal. Photograph: Andre Kosters/EPA
“The response the Portuguese people gave today, their commitment to freedom, democracy, and the future of our country, leaves me naturally moved and proud of our nation,” said Seguro.
Ventura, a former football pundit, columnist, seminarian and novelist who founded Chega seven years ago, said the result showed that “the message from the Portuguese people is clear”, adding that Chega was now the main party on the right and would “soon be governing Portugal”.
Earlier on Sunday, he had accused “the entire political system” of uniting against him.
Media watchdog RSF says ‘outraged’ by ‘harsh’ Lai sentence
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also condemned the 20-year jail sentence handed to Jimmy Lai, urging the UK and others “to intervene” in the case.
“Today, the curtain falls on press freedom in Hong Kong. We are outraged by the harsh sentences handed down to Jimmy Lai,” RSF director general Thibaut Bruttin said in a statement, reported by AFP.
“Democracies, such as the UK and the US, must stop prioritising the normalisation of relations with China and instead exert pressure on the Chinese regime and Hong Kong authorities to ensure that Jimmy Lai and all other journalists are released from prison,” he added.
Lai’s son warns Hong Kong court decision amounts to ‘life sentence’ as ‘time is running out’
Sebastien Lai, Jimmy Lai’s son, has just been speaking to BBC News, offering his first reaction to his father’s overnight sentence.
He said:
“It’s obviously heartbreaking, but unfortunately it’s not unexpected. Look, I think that what was unexpected was that it took five years to get to this point. The last five years, my father has spent in solitary confinement in the maximum security prison.”
He warned that with his father’s age and health conditions, this could essentially be a “life sentence.”
“Unfortunately, time is running out for my father. The clock is ticking at his age, given the conditions and he’s got heart issues. He’s lost ten kilos over the last year alone. Time is not on his side.”
He added that:
“In a time when we’re talking about closer relationships to China, a normalisation of relationships … despite all the national security concerns that we have, rightly so, in this country … if they can’t even put a 78 year old man who’s guilty of nothing more than giving all that he has to stand up for freedom and liberty for the people of Hong Kong on a plane and sending him back here now, especially given his deteriorating health, that tells you all you need to know about the relation that we have with China.”
Ukraine faces ‘one of most challenging electricity situations’ during war, Lviv mayor warns
Jakub Krupa
Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovyi has warned this morning that Ukraine faces “one of the most challenging electricity situations in the past four years” as it nears the fourth anniversary of the full-scale Russian aggression later this month.
The latest overnight Russian strikes killed at least three people in Odesa and Kharkiv, local authorities reported.
Veterans and volunteers of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade organise an event for residents of one of Kyiv’s districts who are left without heating and electricity as a result of Russian shelling. Photograph: Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Ukraine is seeking to accelerate the peace talks with Russia and the US, after the country’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed that the US administration has given Ukraine and Russia yet another deadline to reach a peace settlement, and is now proposing the war should end by June.
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said on Sunday that Kyiv was “ready to speed up peace efforts,” as he thanked for the US leadership on the issue.
“It is up to Russia to demonstrate its willingness to advance diplomacy instead of war. So far, we can only see new strikes and disregard for peace efforts,” he said.
He also repeated his call to put more pressure on Moscow “so that it starts treating peace efforts seriously.”
Elsewhere, we will be looking at reactions to last night’s presidential vote in Portugal, and other stories breaking across the continent.
It’s Monday, 9 February 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
EU calls for ‘immediate and unconditional’ release of Jimmy Lai after his jail sentence
The European Union has called for the “immediate and unconditional” release of the Hong Kong pro-democracy figure, Jimmy Lai, after he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, the harshest penalty handed down for national security offences in Hong Kong.
In a strongly worded statement released just now, a spokesperson for the EU’s diplomatic service said the EU “deplores the heavy prison sentence” and called for his immediate release, “also in consideration of his advanced age and health condition.”
She added:
“The politically motivated prosecution of Jimmy Lai and the former Apple Daily executives and journalists harms Hong Kong’s reputation.
The EU calls on the Hong Kong authorities to restore confidence in press freedom in Hong Kong, one of the pillars of its historic success as an international financial centre, and to stop prosecuting journalists.”
Faced with a demand for a bitcoin ransom and a Monday deadline by someone claiming to be her mother’s kidnapper, “Today” host Savannah Guthrie and her siblings over the weekend solemnly pledged to pay for the return of their mother, Nancy.
“We received your message and we understand,” Savannah Guthrie said in a message posted to Instagram. “We beg you now to return our mother to us so we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”
Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen Jan. 31, and authorities have said they believe she was abducted from her home near Tucson, Arizona.
U.S. journalist and television host Savannah Guthrie, accompanied by her siblings Annie and Camron, speaks in a video message, addressing that they are willing to pay for the release of their elderly mother, Nancy Guthrie, who went missing from her Arizona home several days ago, in this screen grab obtained from social media video taken at an unspecified location and released February 7, 2026. Savannah Guthrie via Instagram/via REUTERS
Savannah Guthrie Via Instagram/via Reuters
“We are aware of the video posted by the Guthrie family. But don’t have any additional information to share,” a spokesperson for Pima Sheriff said in a statement to ABC News on Saturday following the release of the latest video from the family.
The message Savannah Guthrie references in her new Instagram post is the same message the FBI and Pima Sheriff said they were studying Friday, according to a source familiar with the investigation.
Investigators have not confirmed the authenticity of the latest message, which was received by a Tucson television station, nor any of the other ransom notes mentioning Nancy Guthrie, according to the source.
In this image provided by NBCUniversal, Savannah Guthrie, right, her mom Nancy speak, Wednesday, April 17, 2019, in New York.
Nathan Congleton/AP
Investigators have returned repeatedly to the home of Annie Guthrie, Nancy’s other daughter, were Nancy enjoyed dinner and a Saturday game night before returning to her home a few minutes away.
Investigators have also returned to Nancy’s home, where they’ve examined rooftop cameras, towed away a car and made inquiries of neighbors.
The sheriff’s department said, “This remains an active and ongoing investigation,” but added that, after more than a week, “Investigators have not identified any suspects, persons of interest, or vehicles connected to this case.”
ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this report.
Two Leicestershire Police officers and three staff members are under gross misconduct investigation, the IOPC said, “for allegedly failing to review the information passed via Nottinghamshire Police, not progressing safeguarding concerns promptly and if this may have delayed officers going to Stathern Lodge”.
The Turning Point USA All-American Halftime show kicked off Sunday night to millions of fans who streamed the patriotic event online, an alternative to Bad Bunny’s Spanish-only Super Bowl 60 intermission that ended with the Puerto Rican pop star making a politically charged immigration message.
“Welcome to the Turning Point USA All-American Halftime show. And this one’s for you, Charlie,” host Jack Posobiec said, honoring Turning Point USA’s late founder Charlie Kirk, before a rousing electric guitar rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” was played by Brantley Gilbert.
Gilbert got the concert started with a patriotic version of “Real American,” followed by a powerful rendition of Jason Aldean’s “Dirt Road Anthem.”
Gabby Barrett emerged from a near-pitch black space in the stage while the audience erupted in applause, as she opened with her massive hit “I Hope.” The country crooner followed that up with “The Good Ones.”
The YouTube stream was hovering around four and half million live viewers just as Lee Brice’s seven-minute set kicked off. That number jumped to over five million viewers as Brice began belting out lyrics from his mega hit “Drinking Class.”
Before his next song, Brice honored Charlie Kirk, saying “Charlie, he gave people microphones so they could say what was on their mind. This is what’s on mine.” Brice lifted his guitar and sang his new edgy, politically charged track called “Country Nowadays.”
“Country Nowadays” lyrics:
It ain’t easy being country in this country nowadays The direction the fingers point when everything goes up in flames Saying I’m some right wing devil ’cause I was red letter Jesus raised It ain’t easy being country in this country nowadays
Brice ended his set with a hard-charging rendition of his hit “Hard to Love.”
Up next was Kid Rock, who came on to close and he brought the energy to a new height with his classic track “Bawitdaba,” before switching the mode to mellow as he covered Cody Johnson’s #1 smash hit “Til You Can’t.” Rock added his own verse to the song, in which he evangelized about reading the Bible and serving Jesus Christ.
“There’s a book sitting in your house somewhere that could use some dusting off / There’s a man who died for all our sins hanging from the cross / You can give your life to Jesus and he’ll give you a second chance / Till you can’t,” Kid Rock sang.
The Kirk tribute played on the screen showing viewers a montage of photos of Kirk and his widow, Erika Kirk and their children.
First it was the Pepsi-Cola war, then it was the PC versus Apple, and now the AI wars have begun.
The burgeoning rivalry between the world’s leading artificial intelligence firms moved away from the Silicon Valley boardroom to the television screen on Sunday.
AI startup Anthropic made its Super Bowl LX debut with a high-stakes ad campaign that took a direct swipe at its chief competitor, OpenAI. The commercials, which reportedly cost millions to air during the match-up between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, mock OpenAI’s recent decision to introduce advertisements within its popular chatbot, ChatGPT.
One 30-second spot features a young man asking a muscular bystander for workout advice. The bystander responds in a stilted, robotic tone before abruptly pivoting to a sales pitch for shoe insoles that help “short kings stand tall.” The ad concludes with a pointed tagline: “Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude.”
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An ad for Claude, Anthropic’s AI model.(Anthropic)
Anthropic, the San Francisco-based firm founded by former OpenAI executives, is positioning itself as the more principled alternative to the Microsoft-backed giant. In a blog post released alongside the campaign, Anthropic said its AI model Claude will “remain ad-free.”
“There are many good places for advertising. A conversation with Claude is not one of them,” the blog post read. “Claude will remain ad-free. Our users won’t see ‘sponsored’ links adjacent to their conversations with Claude; nor will Claude’s responses be influenced by advertisers or include third-party product placements our users did not ask for.”
Anthropic declined to provide further comment.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded to the ads on X, calling them “clearly dishonest” and accused Anthropic of “double speak.”
“But I wonder why Anthropic would go for something so clearly dishonest,” he wrote. “I guess it’s on brand for Anthropic doublespeak to use a deceptive ad to critique theoretical deceptive ads that aren’t real, but a Super Bowl ad is not where I would expect it.”
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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded to Anthropic’s ads forcefully, calling them “clearly dishonest.” (Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Altman defended the decision to test ads in the “Free” and “Go” tiers of ChatGPT as a necessity for maintaining broad accessibility. He contrasted OpenAI’s scale with Anthropic’s, stating that “more Texans use ChatGPT for free than all the people in the United States who use Claude.”
“Anthropic serves an expensive product to rich people,” Altman added. “We also feel strongly that we need to bring AI to billions of people who can’t pay for subscriptions.”
Altman also responded to the ads on the TBPN podcast (The Technology Brothers Podcast) with hosts John Coogan and Jordi Hays. He said his company isn’t “stupid” and that they respect OpenAI users.
“We’re not stupid,” Altman told the hosts. “We respect our users, and we understand that if we did something like what those ads depict, people would rightfully stop using our product.”
The company has stated that ads will not influence answers and advertisers will not have access to users’ conversations. According to OpenAI, ads will be labeled and at the bottom of the screen.
OpenAI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the Federal Reserve’s Integrated Review of the Capital Framework for Large Banks Conference in Washington, D.C., July 22, 2025. (Ken Cedeno/Reuters)
The TBPN hosts, who have become influential voices in the Silicon Valley ecosystem, offered a split verdict on the escalating conflict.
“It’s incredibly clever. And it’s incredibly dirty,” Hays said, ading that the “gloves are off” between the two companies.
Coogan characterized the ads as “fake newsy,” but noted that it represents a significant shift in how these companies view one another.
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OpenAI also had a presence during the big game, using airtime to promote its software coding tool, Codex, as it seeks to maintain its dominant market position amid a “code red” competitive environment.
The AI wars are no longer just about who has the smartest model—they are now about who can win the hearts and minds of the largest television audience of the year.
Andrew Kugle is an editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to andrew.kugle@fox.com and on Twitter: @AndrewJKugle.
Sir Keir Starmer’s director of communications has stepped down the day after the prime minister’s most senior aide quit.
Tim Allan, a former adviser to Tony Blair, had only started at No 10 in September in a bid to steady the ship.
He is Sir Keir’s fourth head of communications since Labour won the election in July 2024.
Mr Allan said: “I have decided to stand down to allow a new No 10 team to be built.
“I wish the PM and his team every success.”
His departure comes less than 24 hours after Sir Keir’s right-hand man, Morgan McSweeney, resigned over his role in appointing Lord Mandelson as ambassador to the US after further links to the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein were revealed.
The resignation of two of Sir Keir’s inner circle will prompt further calls for the prime minister to also go.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
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Yes, the wedding ceremony during Bad Bunny’s historic Super Bowl half-time show – the first where a headliner performed entirely in Spanish – was genuine.
About five minutes into the Puerto Rican artist‘s 13-minute performance at Levi’s Stadium in California, cameras panned to a couple’s wedding ceremony.
“I declare you husband and wife, you can kiss the bride,” a smiling officiant declared in Spanish.
The newlyweds then parted to reveal Lady Gaga and Los Sobrinos, a Puerto Rican salsa band who played on Bad Bunny’s most recent album and at his Puerto Rican residency.
The couple are serenaded by Gaga, who sings “Die With A Smile,” before cameras focus in on the couple cutting their wedding cake and dancing to Bad Bunny’s “Baile Inolvidable” (Unforgettable Dance).
Image: Not many weddings see two of the world’s most successful singers taking part in the first dance. Pic: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The star, who recently won album of the year at the Grammys, performed on a heavily Puerto Rican-inspired stage.
After the show, his representative confirmed that the couple had actually been married during the show.
The unnamed husband and wife had invited Bad Bunny to their wedding, but he said they should instead be part of his half-time show.
The artist served as a witness and signed their marriage certificate.
The wedding scene, which recreated a small outdoor plaza, was part of the show’s greater celebration of Puerto Rico.
The scene quickly went viral, with one person commenting on the NFL’s official YouTube video of the performance: “Imagine being in your 80s telling your grandchildren you got to have a wedding in the Super Bowl”.
Another jokingly commented, “‘How many people came to your wedding?’
“‘Idk (I don’t know), like 70,000’ – that couple”.
Image: Bad Bunny won the album of the year at the 2026 Grammys.P Pic: AP
The joyous half-time show was labelled as the “worst ever”by US President Donald Trump.
Trump, who attended last year’s show, called Bad Bunny’s show “an affront to the Greatness of America”.
“Nobody understands a word this guy is saying,” he added.
Mr Trump’s administration has long been hostile to the use of Spanish within the US.
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Within hours of Trump’s second inauguration in 2025, the new administration took down the Spanish-language version of the official White House website.
Image: Jennifer Lopez unveiled a reversible US and Puerto Rican flag during her 2020 Super Bowl performance. Pic: Reuters
The president shut down the Spanish version of the website during his first term. It was restored when President Joe Biden was inaugurated in 2021.
In March 2025, Trump signed an executive order designating English as the official language of the United States.
The order allows government agencies and organisations which receive federal funding to choose whether to continue to offer documents and services in languages other than English.
According to a 2022 US Census Bureau report, 67.8 million (almost one in five) people in the US spoke a language other than English at home in 2019.
The police officer was responding to an emergency when they drove into the car trap
The police car got stuck in the car trap(Image: Supplied)
A police officer has been suspended from driving after getting stuck in the notorious car trap on the Guided Busway in Cambridgeshire. Cambridgeshire Police has confirmed a police car got stuck in the car trap on Station Road in St Ives on Saturday, February 7.
The police car was responding to an emergency when it became stuck in the car trap at around 12:40am. The police have reported that no one was injured during the incident.
The vehicle was recovered from the area at around 3am. An investigation into the crash is underway.
A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Police said: “A police vehicle was responding to an emergency when it became stuck in a car trap in Station Road, St Ives at about 12.40am on 7 February. No injuries sustained.
“Vehicle was recovered by about 3am. The officer has been suspended from driving while an investigation takes place.”
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