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Two Latvian men arrested for trespass offences near RAF airbase
Meanwhile, we are getting a line from the UK that two Latvian nationals resident in the UK have been arrested on suspicion of trespass offences at an RAF airbase in Cambridgeshire.
The two men where found last night as security patrols near RAF Molesworth found an abandoned vehicle and a small breach in the perimeter fence. The two men were located and arrested at 2am.
In a statement, the police said the matter is being investigated by officers from Counter Terrorism Policing.
The incident comes just over a week after a widely reported security issue near RAF Fairford, and will raise concerns about security of UK airbases.
Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London team, Helen Flanagan, said:
“We’re very aware of the recent heightened interest and concern around military sites, but at this stage there is nothing to suggest this incident is connected to the events at RAF Fairford last week.
Our investigation into this incident is at its very early stages. A big part of this is looking at any potential motivation as to why the men were present at the site, but I must stress we are keeping an open mind at this stage and enquiries are very much ongoing.
As ever, I would ask the public to remain vigilant and if you see anything of concern, then to contact police.”
Key events
Jakub Krupa
The police statement is also likely to prompt a question about the response to the incident.
With the abandoned vehicle found at 10pm, and the two men only arrested at 2am, what happened in the meantime? Where were they found?
The statement points out that “a small breach of the perimeter fence was subsequently identified.”
The police said the vehicle was “recovered by police,” with further precautionary checks for a potential explosives – but “nothing of concern was found.”
On the two suspects – aged 32 and 36 – it said:
“They were initially arrested on suspicion of trespass on a prohibited site and criminal damage and taken to a Cambridgeshire police station.
The pair have since been further arrested on suspicion of an offence under section 4 of the National Security Act 2023 – namely entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK.
Both men currently remain in police custody at this time.”
RAF Molesworth is located some 30 miles northwest of Cambridge and 70 miles from London.
Unlike RAF Fairford, it’s a non-flying base, but it hosts a number of other functions, including the previously mentioned intelligence centre.
Jakub Krupa
There’s no point in speculating about the nature of this incident until we know more.
But it will undoubtedly raise further concerns about and scrutiny of the security of UK airbases after last week’s Fairford incident.
RAF Molesworth hosts some US troops and the Joint Intelligence Operations Center Europe Analytic Center (JAC), as well as Nato’s 24/7 intelligence fusion centre.
Two Latvian men arrested for trespass offences near RAF airbase
Meanwhile, we are getting a line from the UK that two Latvian nationals resident in the UK have been arrested on suspicion of trespass offences at an RAF airbase in Cambridgeshire.
The two men where found last night as security patrols near RAF Molesworth found an abandoned vehicle and a small breach in the perimeter fence. The two men were located and arrested at 2am.
In a statement, the police said the matter is being investigated by officers from Counter Terrorism Policing.
The incident comes just over a week after a widely reported security issue near RAF Fairford, and will raise concerns about security of UK airbases.
Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London team, Helen Flanagan, said:
“We’re very aware of the recent heightened interest and concern around military sites, but at this stage there is nothing to suggest this incident is connected to the events at RAF Fairford last week.
Our investigation into this incident is at its very early stages. A big part of this is looking at any potential motivation as to why the men were present at the site, but I must stress we are keeping an open mind at this stage and enquiries are very much ongoing.
As ever, I would ask the public to remain vigilant and if you see anything of concern, then to contact police.”
French student protests in Place de la Bastille – in pictures
EU, Canada to announce plans to work on ‘an alliance for the future’
Jennifer Rankin
in Brussels
Elsewhere, UK’s prime minister Andy Burnham, who pledged to rebuild the country’s post-Brexit relationship with its European neighbours, has a little bit of friendly competition to be the EU’s best friend (13:35).
At a summit in Montreal later this month (29-30 October), the EU and Canada will pledge to launch “an alliance for the future”, with a host of agreements on digital trade and the economy, and plans to intensify ties on raw materials, the Arctic and people-to-people contacts.
The nine-page draft summit text seen by the Guardian does not mention the phrase “associate membership”, reflecting scepticism about the term European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen surprised EU diplomats with last month. Canada’s government also appeared to distance themselves from the term, which has no legal basis in EU treaties.
Semantics aside, the two sides will pledge to deepen ties on a long list of areas to build “a deeper and more integrated relationship”. The text, likely to be closely read by the UK and others, states:
“Our partnership may become a model for other countries seeking friendship in a challenging world.”
According to the draft, the EU and Canada will:
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sign an agreement on the joint purchase of 50 waterbombers made by Canada’s DeHavilland to be ready by 2030 to fight wildfires in Canada and the EU.
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negotiate Canada’s entry into flagship EU programmes, such as Horizon (research) and Erasmus+ (student exchanges and education) and the Galileo satellite programme.
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assess options to export Canadian liquefied natural gas and critical minerals to the EU
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deepen cooperation on AI safety and carry out feasibility studies on new subsea infrastructure to connect Europe, Canada and Asia
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increase labour mobility to reduce barriers to young people and skilled professionals working on both jurisdictions
Not in the text… any mention of the 10 EU member states yet to ratify the EU-Canada trade agreement that was signed ten years ago.
Ukraine war stalemate could ‘quickly turn … into a much broader … regional conflict,’ Rubio warns
Meanwhile, let’s bring you comments from the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who was in Lisbon this afternoon and warned that the continuing stalemate between Russia and Ukraine was “very dangerous.”
Speaking alongside the Portuguese foreign minister Paulo Rangel, Rubio warned that any escalation “could quickly turn what is a war between two countries into a much broader and far more dangerous regional conflict.”
Rubio said there have been attempts to reach a negotiated settlement, and “we will keep trying”.
Here are a few more images showing the scale of the demonstration currently gathered at Place de la Bastille in Paris…
Left-wing presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon – whose party, France Unbowed (LFI), has long been supportive of the protests – is set to address the crowds shortly.
Main Paris protest gets under way amid anger at ’empty promises’ on education
Today’s main student demonstration in Paris is just getting under way, and there are lots of people attending.
Protest leaders are criticising “empty promises” from the government, calling for “concrete measures” and saying their protest action will continue until their demands are met.
Number of school blockades gradually decreasing, French government data show
Back in France, there are initial signs that the student protests may be starting to subside a bit – despite sometimes dramatic images continuing to emerge from across the country.
Thousands still turned out to support the movement – including a new march in Marseille this afternoon – but the education ministry’s figures showed the number of school blockades was gradually decreasing.
It said 224 were closed in the morning, down to 157 by lunchtime, meaning that 96% of schools were open, Reuters reported.
However, the student groups are calling for another day of mobilisation on Tuesday, 13 October, so we are likely to see the protests continue for some time, even if in a slightly different form.
AFP has a quick snap that the EU is confident it is capable of meeting demand for gas this winter but its reserves are at a “historically low” level.
The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas association said “Europe is entering the winter with historically low storage levels while observing higher and more volatile global gas prices,” while adding “gas infrastructure remains sufficiently flexible to meet demand.”
UK announces further sanctions on Russia
While the British prime minister Andy Burnham has been in Berlin meeting chancellor Friedrich Merz, his foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, has been in Ukraine, where he has announced further sanctions on Russia.
AFP reports that, visiting the site of a Russian missile strike which hit a residential area in Pryluky with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Miliband said:
There can be no clearer sign of Putin’s evil, evil intent and strategy in this conflict. Putin once said that he was going to win on the battlefield. He is trying to win by terrorising civilians.
Miliband said the UK government was announcing fresh sanctions on Russia, which he said would apply “on the shadow fleet, on the oil companies, on the crypto, on the financing of the war”.
More on the details of the sanctions are here.
Strike on Kramatorsk buses ‘will not go unanswered,’ Zelenskyy says
In a post to social media, Ukraine’s president, who included graphic footage from the scene, has said that a Russian strike on public transport in Kramatorsk which has left at least 30 dead “will not go unanswered”.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted to say:
Doctors are now fighting to save the lives of people injured in the Russian strike on Kramatorsk. As of now, 30 people have been confirmed killed, and sadly, that number may rise. The Russian bomb effectively hit two city minibuses. Some of those killed have still not been identified because of the severity of their injuries. My condolences to all their families and loved ones. Another 18 people were injured in the strike. Residential buildings and cars were also damaged.
This strike will not go unanswered. Russia is trying to destroy all life in Donbas, and a response from the world is a must. A forceful response – exactly as the Russians deserve for all the deaths they have brought. May all those killed rest in peace.
French education minister to draft proposals on teachers’ absences in response to protests
Back to France, education minister Édouard Geffray said his ministry would prepare a plan to address on of the key demands of the students’ movement on providing cover for absent teachers “in a few hours or a few days,” Le Figaro reported.
He is expected to meet with the three main student groups later today to discuss details (10:10).
In the meantime, protests continue across the country, and AFP notes that while they have been largely peaceful, some demonstrators resort to acts of violence or clash with police officers.
Burnham ‘committed to securing deeper cooperation’ with EU at looming summit
Burnham also talks about rebuilding the UK’s relationship with the EU after Brexit.
He says their meeting in Berlin comes ahead of the UK-EU summit later this year – expected in late November – as he says he is “very committed to securing deeper cooperation” with the EU at the summit.
He wants to see “if we can bring the UK closer to Europe, particularly in the interest of economic growth and collaboration on irregular migration,” he says.
In terms of more symbolic gestures, he says he will take part in talks with German business leaders later today, and hopes to host them in the UK next year – alongside the full German cabinet to show that “this treaty is not just words on a page, left on a shelf,” but a meaningful document.
He then turns to students standing somewhat awkwardly behind the pair throughout their exchange, and they briefly chat about their experiences with the UK, with someone mentioning their visited Scotland.
Aaaaaand that’s it.
Burnham hails Germany as a partner for ‘challenging times’
In his response, Burnham focuses on broader cooperation with Germany.
He says that in these “challenging times, we need the highest quality collaboration with our closest partners.”
He says their talks also looked at defence and security issues, including their preparedness and ability to counter hybrid threats.
He also says the UK is open to Germany joining GCap programme of work on the next generation fighter jet, together with Italy and Japan.
He also flags cooperation on quantum, AI, and tech more broadly.
Merz welcomes new treaty as new opening after UK’s ‘regrettable’ decision to leave EU
Merz is speaking now.
His remark focus exclusively on the bilateral British-German Kensington Treaty, as the pair exchange the documents and formally complete its implementation.
He says the treaty “opens up new opportunities” between the two countries, following Britain’s “regrettable” exit from the European Union.
He focuses on a particular element of the treaty that gives better access to both countries, with no visas required – even for extended stays by school pupils and university students – and for student exchanges between the two countries.
“That is precisely why we are doing this: so that the younger generation, within the context of bilateral relations between Germany and Great Britain, can simply see just how well we Europeans work together and how closely we belong together,” he says.
Merz and Burnham expected to deliver statements in Berlin shortly
Back to Berlin, Germany’s Merz and UK’s Burnham are about to speak after their talks.
Annoyingly, it’ll be just statements, with no questions from the press.
You can watch along below, and I will bring you the key lines here:
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