WASHINGTON (AP) ' The Central Intelligence Agency offered help to potential informants in Iran on Tuesday, providing Farsi-language instructions on ways to safely contact the U.S. spy agency as President Donald Trump mulls possible military strikes.

The post is the latest in a series of recruitment pitches in Farsi, Korean, Russian and Mandarin that offered secure ways to contact the CIA. The Farsi-language message posted Tuesday to X, Instagram and YouTube, however, comes at an especially uneasy time in U.S.-Iran relations and as the Iranian theocracy faces new protests at home.

The U.S. has assembled its largest military force in the Mideast in decades as tensions with Iran have risen. Trump threatened military action in January in response to the governments fierce crackdown on national protests before shifting his focus to Irans disputed nuclear program and warning it to make a deal. Another round of nuclear talks is planned for later this week.

In a sign of new unrest in Iran, students held anti-government protests at universities in Tehran on Monday.

'Hello. The Central Intelligence Agency hears you and wants to help,' the agency wrote in the message, according to an English translation. 'Here are some tips on how to make a secure virtual call with us.'

The Farsi-language post racked up millions of views within just a few hours.

The agency wont say if earlier recruitment videos have resulted in tips or new sources, but Director John Ratcliffe has said the posts are having an impact.

'Last year, CIAs Mandarin video campaign reached many Chinese citizens, and we know there are many more searching for a way to improve their lives and change their country for the better,' Ratcliffe said earlier this month when a new Mandarin video was posted.

The CIAs tips include using a virtual private network, or VPN, to circumvent internet restrictions and surveillance, and the use of a disposable device that cant easily be traced back to the user. The CIA also urged potential informants to use private web browsers and to delete their internet history to cover their tracks.

The instructions include ways to reach the CIA on its public website or on the darknet, a part of the internet that can only be accessed using special tools designed to hide the users identity. The CIA has also posted similar instructions in Russian.

A spokesperson for Irans Mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment about the new video.

Associated Press writer Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report from New York.

In her Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit filed Friday, Crowley alleges retaliation in violation of the Labor Code and retaliation in violation of the state Constitution. The suit seeks unspecified damages.

Crowley was removed as LAFD chief by Bass on Feb. 21, 2025, although Crowley is still with the LAFD as an assistant chief in the Valley Bureau.

Bass accused Crowley of leadership failures during the January 2025 windstorm that led to the deadly Palisades fire, and also accused of refusing to prepare an after-action report on the firefight. The mayor also accused Crowley of failing to deploy 1,000 firefighters who “could have been on duty” the morning the fire erupted. Bass also contended in interviews that Crowley failed to inform her of the fire danger presented by forecasted Santa Ana winds ' despite those warnings being widely publicized by the National Weather Service and in media reports for days in advance.

Crowley’s lawsuit, however, lays blame for the fire at the feet of the mayor and city leaders, saying the city historically failed to properly fund the LAFD, leaving the agency under-manned and backlogged in the maintenance of vehicles and other equipment.

“Crowley brings this case based on the actions of Mayor Karen Bass, who orchestrated a campaign of retaliation to conceal the extent to which Bass undermined public safety and transparency,” according to Crowley’s lawsuit.

The suit contends Crowley submitted “numerous detailed reports” annually to city leaders, including Bass complaining of aging infrastructure, shrinking staff and rising emergency calls that demanded attention.

“Despite these warnings, and despite Crowley’s request for an increased budget to address these issues, Mayor Bass and her administration cut the LAFD’s operating budget for fiscal year 2024-2025 by $17.6 million and eliminated positions critical to maintaining fire engines, trucks, and ambulances,” according to the suit.

The lawsuit also slams Bass’ decision to leave the country in the days prior to the severe Santa Ana wind event for a diplomatic trip to Ghana 'a trip she took without notifying Crowley.

“When the Palisades fire erupted, Bass ' then out of the country 'initially praised the department’s preparedness, even issuing a press release highlighting its deployment strategy,” the suit states. “But as criticism mounted over her absence and over her decision to cut the operating budget for LAFD despite evidence that LAFD needed more and not fewer resources, Bass reversed course. She sought to avoid accountability by shifting blame and lying ' including falsely claiming that she was not aware of the nationally anticipated weather event, falsely claiming that that the LAFD’s budget was not cut, and falsely claiming that LAFD’s resources would have supported an additional 1,000 firefighters to fight the blaze ' claims contradicted by public records and Bass’ own prior statements.

“These false statements were not mistakes but part of a deliberate strategy to divert scrutiny from Bass’ decisions and to avoid accountability.”

There was no immediate response from the mayor’s office to the lawsuit.

Crowley last year appealed her termination to the City Council, but the council stood behind Bass, rejecting the appeal in a 13-2 vote.

The Palisades fire burned more than 23,000 acres, killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of structures.

The speech is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Pacific time (9 p.m. Eastern).

The president’s address to the nation, which is mandated in Article II, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, comes amid the Supreme Court’s ruling that declared Trump’s global tariffs unlawful, controversy over immigration raids in Minnesota and other states, the fallout from the continued release of government files on the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, potential U.S. military action in Iran, the continuing war in Ukraine, destruction and hardship in Gaza, and changing relations between the U.S. and allies around the world.

Also, Americans who are filing their tax returns are seeing the results of Trump and the Republican Party’s One Big Beautiful Bill, with a higher standard deduction, new deductions for those who earn tips and overtime, a higher cap for deductions of state and local taxes, a higher child tax credit, deductions for car loan interest, plus a new deduction for seniors on Social Security.

In addition, midterm elections will take place this November for all members of Congress, and many senators and governors, with primaries slated for the months leading up to the main contest.

The address to Congress will give the president an opportunity to make the case for his administration’s agenda and be followed, as is customary, by a Democratic response.

All of the major broadcast networks ' ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and PBS ' will offer live coverage of the State of the Union, both on their over-the-air channels and via streaming on their web sites.

The major cable news networks that will also carry the address include CNN, C-SPAN, Fox News, Fox Business and MS NOW.

On YouTube alone, live streams will be offered from the White House, ABC News, CBS News, CNN, C-SPAN, Fox News, MS Now, NBC News and PBS NewsHour.

Most news channels will begin their coverage one or two hours before the speech.

Streams will also be available from the New York Times, the Guardian, and USA Today.

Audio of the speech will be offered by iHeartRadio and NPR.org, and many public radio stations will carry the address live.

The Democratic Party’s official response to the president’s address will be delivered by Virginia Gov. Abagail Spanberger, who won her race in November 2025 to become Virginia’s first female governor.

The party’s official Spanish-language response will be delivered by U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, the California Democrat who was shoved to the ground in June 2025 after he tried to ask a question of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a Los Angeles news conference.

Despite the party’s official responses to the address, dozens of Democrats have pledged to boycott President Trump’s speech and will attend an event on the National Mall called the People’s State of the Union.

Forward Matthew Tkachuk posted pictures on social media of members of the team celebrating on what appears to be a U.S. government plane and a group shot of them deplaning.

The U.S. beat Canada 2-1 in overtime on Sunday at the Milan Cortina Olympics. It was the Americans’ first gold medal in mens hockey since the 'Miracle on Ice' group won in Lake Placid, New York, in 1980.

The team received a State of the Union invitation from Trump following the game. A video that circulated on social media appeared to show Trump inviting the team on a phone call in the locker room, as he joked that he’d also have to invite the women’s team, which also won gold over Canada.

The women declined, citing scheduling issues.

The men took a chartered plane to Miami on Monday night before traveling to the nation’s capital in the morning.

Videos and photos of the teams White House visit were shared on social media by Trump administration aides. Team members posed for a photograph in front of the South Portico after they arrived. They also walked along the West Wing colonnade where Trump has posted portraits of every U.S. president just steps away from the Oval Office, where they were welcomed by Trump.

As they approached the Oval Office, some of the players popped into the press office’s open door to flash their medals. Staffers applauded and shouted, 'We love you!'

'I recognize every one of you. I know every one of you,' Trump said as the players entered the Oval Office, which he has redecorated with numerous flourishes of gold that matched the players medals.

'Big guys,' he said, standing near his desk and shaking hands with the players, who wore dark tops with 'USA,' the American flag and the Olympic rings on the front and light colored pants.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

A video of the fracas shows two uniformed officers pacing a walkway in the park Monday as snowballs fly at them from all directions, hitting the officers and covering them in snow.

The officers, growing visibly frustrated, shoved at least two people to the ground as snowballs continued to whizz by. At one point, a person runs up behind an officer and mushes some snow onto his head. One of the officers can be seen rubbing his eye toward the end of the video.

In a statement Tuesday, the New York Police Department said multiple uniformed officers were struck in the face with snowballs and were 'removed by EMS in stable condition' to a nearby hospital, but did not disclose additional information on their injuries. No arrests have been made.

Jessica Tisch, the citys police commissioner, called the behavior 'disgraceful' and 'criminal' and said the department is investigating.

Several political figures in the city were quick to denounce the dust up, with many of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdanis critics seizing on the incident as evidence that respect for law enforcement has declined under the new mayor, who faced attacks during his campaign over criticisms he made of the department in 2020. Mamdani has walked back those past remarks.

Mamdani, in a post on X on Tuesday, wrote 'Officers, like all city workers, have been out in a historic blizzard, keeping New Yorkers safe and cars moving. Treat them with respect. If anyones catching a snowball, its me.'

At a news conference later in the day, Mamdani was asked whether he thought anyone should be criminally charged over the snowballs and appeared to downplay the situation.

'From the videos that Ive seen, it looks like a snowball fight,' he said.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) ' A coalition of Wisconsin school districts, teachers unions, advocacy groups, parents, students and others announced a lawsuit Tuesday against the state Legislature, alleging that its failing to adequately fund public schools.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in Eau Claire County Circuit Court, argues that schools are in crisis, with high-needs students facing the greatest risk. It asks the court to adopt a new finance system that meets the needs of districts unless the Legislature and governor enact one first 'in a timely fashion.'

School funding lawsuits have been brought for decades in states across the country with varying degrees of success.

Fights over how and whether to reshape Wisconsins complex school finance system have usually taken place in the Statehouse. Now it will move to the courthouse, where this challenge will almost certainly end up before the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court.

In 2000, the last time the states school funding formula was challenged, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the system as constitutional. But attorneys argue that so much has changed since then that a new challenge was warranted.

The lawsuit comes as Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and the Republican-controlled Legislature have been negotiating tapping the states $2.5 billion surplus to cut taxes and potentially increase funding for schools.

As recently as 2003, the state paid two-thirds of the cost of each students education. But now districts are paying about half the costs.

Evers, a former state schools superintendent, angered Republicans in 2023 when he used the governors extensive veto powers to ensure that districts can increase per-pupil spending annually for the next 400 years. However, without increased funding from the state, districts are forced to raise property taxes.

And when schools cant raise enough under the allowable spending limits to meet expenses, they have been increasingly asking voters to increase property taxes to fund their local district.

In 2024, a record-high 241 referendums were put before voters for approval to fund schools, with 169 approved, according to the Wisconsin Policy Institute.

Anger over the most recent property tax bills, mailed in December, has motivated lawmakers and Evers to try and enact a property tax cut this year. They have yet to reach a deal.

The lawsuit also blames a drop in Wisconsin student testing scores over the past two decades with inadequate funding. Wisconsin has long been the state with the widest achievement gap between white and non-white students.

Leah Hover-Preiss, a teacher in the Adams-Friendship School District and a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said that she has seen the impact of inadequate funding in the classroom through increased class sizes, reduced support for teachers, fewer opportunities for students and a lack of mental health services.

'In order to best support students and families, our schools need strong and stable funding from the state,' she said.

The lawsuit alleges that the state is violating the Wisconsin Constitutions requirement that all children be provided with an equal opportunity for a sound, basic and uniform education.

It also argues that the constitutional rights of students with high needs is not being met and cannot be met unless the Legislature changes the public school finance system and increases funding for them. The lawsuit further contends that the current special education reimbursement rate is unconstitutionally deficient.

'When schools are underfunded, students lose opportunities and communities suffer,' said Jeff Mandell, president and general counsel at Law Forward that brought the lawsuit in partnership with the statewide teachers union. 'Supporting public education isnt just good policy ' its a legal and moral obligation.'

The Wisconsin PTA is taking lead on the lawsuit and is joined by 18 others individuals and entities, including school districts in Beloit, Green Bay, Eau Claire, Adams-Friendship and Necedah. Other parties include teachers unions in Beloit, Eau Claire, Necedah and Green Bay and eight teachers, parents, students and community members.

The Legislature and its budget-writing committee are named as defendants. Republican legislative leaders did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

Durov, who was born and began his career in Russia, accused Moscow of fabricating pretexts to restrict access by Russians to the Telegram service as part of an attempt to 'suppress the right to privacy and free speech.'

'A sad spectacle of a state afraid of its own people,' Durov wrote on social media.

Russian media outlets had begun circulating unconfirmed reports earlier in the day that a criminal investigation had been opened against Durov by Russias Federal Security Service, or FSB.

It comes two weeks after Russias communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, said it was restricting the Telegram app, accusing the company of refusing to abide by Russian law.

The move triggered a rare wave of public outcry, including widespread criticism from pro-Kremlin military bloggers, who warned that Telegram was widely used by Russian troops fighting in Ukraine and restricting its service would derail military communications.

However, Russian officials have continued to portray Telegram as a security risk. Digital development minister Maksud Shadayev told Russian news wire Interfax that foreign intelligence agencies could be reading messages sent through Telegram by Russian soldiers on the front line.

When asked about the case, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that the FSB had gathered information on a 'large number of violations' by Telegram, as well as content that could 'potentially pose a danger to our country.' He said Telegram had been unwilling to cooperate with the authorities.

'Based on this, the relevant agencies are taking measures they deem appropriate,' Peskov said.

Under President Vladimir Putin, the authorities have engaged in multipronged efforts to rein in the internet. They have adopted restrictive laws and banned websites and platforms that dont comply, and focused on improving technology to monitor and manipulate online traffic.

Russian authorities have targeted YouTube and imposed restrictions on popular messaging platforms, blocking Signal and Viber and banning online calls on WhatsApp and Telegram. In December, restrictions were imposed on Apples FaceTime video calling service.

While its still possible to circumvent some of the restrictions by using virtual private network services, many of them are routinely blocked too.

At the same time, Russia actively promotes the 'national' messaging app known as MAX, which critics say could be used for surveillance. The platform ' touted by developers and officials as a one-stop shop for messaging, online government services, making payments and more ' openly declares it will share user data with authorities upon request. Experts also say it doesnt use end-to-end encryption.

Durov has faced criminal investigations elsewhere. In 2024, he was arrested in Paris over allegations that his platform was being used for illicit activity, including drug trafficking and the distribution of child sexual abuse images.

Spirit Airlines parent company says it expects to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the late spring or early summer, after striking a preliminary deal with its lenders and secured creditors that provides the support needed to finish its restructuring.

The early-stage agreement would help Spirit finalize changes to its fleet, route network and cost structure as it works toward emerging as 'a new Spirit' ' a smaller, leaner carrier still focused on offering low fares but with more options like premium economy and its version of first-class seating with more legroom.

'Spirit will emerge as a strong, leaner competitor that is positioned to profitably deliver the value American consumers expect at a price they want to pay,' said CEO Dave Davis.

The budget carrier filed for fresh bankruptcy protection in August, months after emerging from a Chapter 11 reorganization. Davis said at the time that the airlines previous Chapter 11 petition focused on reducing debt and raising capital, but after exiting that process last March, it had 'become clear that there is much more work to be done and many more tools are available to best position Spirit for the future.'

The Florida company quickly followed the news of its second bankruptcy in a year with announcements that it would suspend operations in about a dozen U.S. cities and furlough 1,800 flight attendants. The airline also instituted furloughs and job cuts before its first bankruptcy filing.

Low-cost carriers like Spirit have been under pressure by bigger airlines, which have rolled out their own low-cost offerings.

Known for its bright yellow planes and no-frills service, Spirit has had a rough ride since the COVID-19 pandemic amid rising operation costs and its mounting debt. By the time of its first Chapter 11 filing in November 2024, Spirit had lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020.

NEW YORK (AP) ' Millions across the northeastern United States on Tuesday contended with treks to school and work as they dug out from a major ' and in some areas record-breaking ' storm that blanketed the region with snow, canceled flights, disrupted transit and downed power lines.

Even as the snow moved north Tuesday, giving way to sunshine in parts of the region, the National Weather Service warned another storm originating in the Great Lakes was right around the corner, though it’s not forecast to be nearly as severe.

Many large school districts remained closed, including in Boston and Hartford, Connecticut. But in New York City, more than 900,000 students in the nations largest public school system had a regular day, Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared, inviting kids to pelt him with snowballs over his decision.

Many students and their caregivers seemed open to taking the mayor up on that idea, as they scrambled over mountainous snow banks and dodged salt spreaders during the morning drop-off.

'Were walking on thin ice here. One more day wouldve been fine,' said Danielle Obloj, the parent of a Brooklyn fifth grader. 'They should never have let these kids come back to school.'

Nearly 1 in 6 teachers called out sick Tuesday, the first day back after the blizzard and a midwinter break, city officials said.

Mamdani, a Democrat, and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels noted that families rely on in-person school for education and many other things, including parents ability to go to work. The officials also maintained that it would have been complicated to roll out remote learning at the end of a midwinter break.

Others hailed the citys efforts at snow-clearing.

'It was much better than last time ' an easy commute, no problems whatsoever,' said Raul Garcia, as he exited a cab with his three school-age children. 'We thought it was going to be really bad walking, but looking at the streets, theyre so clean.'

Preliminary attendance data shows 63% of the roughly 900,000 students came in, Samuels said. City data show the average attendance rate for the last school year was about 90%. Mamdani said about 12,000 of the school systems 78,800 teachers called out sick. The city called in more than 5,000 substitutes

Philadelphia switched to online learning Monday and Tuesday, while districts on Long Island and elsewhere in the New York suburbs canceled school again Tuesday.

Roads are reopening and mass transit is coming back online

Mondays storm that meteorologists are calling the strongest in a decade dumped more than 2 feet of snow in parts of the Northeast. More than 3 feet (0.9 meters) fell in Rhode Island ' surpassing snow totals from the historic Blizzard of 1978 that struck the Northeast, the National Weather Service said.

By Tuesday morning, roads began to reopen, mass transportation was coming back online in some cities and power had returned for some of the hundreds of thousands who had lost electricity in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Delaware and Rhode Island. More than 100,000 remained without power in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, which operates essentially on a single circuit, according to Douglas Foley, president of electric operations for the utility Eversource.

Amtrak canceled some trains between Boston and New York and between New York and Philadelphia on Tuesday morning.

But other railroads were open, including New Jersey Transit, and the Long Island Railroad 'unleashed' a snow-clearing train car known as 'Darth Vader' to clear snow drifts.

Another storm is on the way

The weather service said it’s tracking another storm that could bring snow to the Great Lakes on Tuesday before pushing into the Northeast on Wednesday. The clipper storm brings the prospect of a combination of rain and up to a couple of inches of snow.

The new storm is not expected to be as strong, but even a few extra inches of snow on top of hard-hit areas could make cleanup more difficult, said Frank Pereira, meteorologist for the weather service in College Park, Maryland.

Canceled flights and a snowball fight

The weather service referred to Mondays storm as a 'classic bomb cyclone/noreaster off the Northeast coast.' A bomb cyclone happens when a storms pressure falls by a certain amount within a 24-hour period.

Roughly 2,200 flights in and out of the U.S. were canceled Tuesday, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Most of the cancellations involved airports in New York, New Jersey and Boston.

Rhode Islands T.F. Green International Airport paused its airport operations Monday as it dealt with nearly 38 inches of snow, according to the Weather Service, breaking a record of 28.6 inches (72.6 centimeters) set in 1978. The pause was expected to continue through Tuesday afternoon as the airport assessed conditions.

Along with the disruptions, the storm led to the creation of armies of snowmen and other sculptures as well as snowball fights.

A massive snowball fight erupted Monday in New York Citys Washington Square Park, but video showed two outnumbered police officers being pelted by snowballs. City police commissioner Jessica Tisch called the behavior 'disgraceful' and 'criminal.'

Storm strands juror as sex trafficking trial resumes

Storm-related travel disruptions even impacted the resumption of a high-profile criminal case in Manhattan federal court.

A juror in the sex trafficking trial of wealthy brothers Alon, Oren and Tal Alexander was 'trapped in Miami' and wasnt scheduled for a return flight until Friday, Judge Valerie Caproni said Tuesday.

The judge eventually dismissed the stranded juror from the case, leaving just one alternate. The trial wasnt held last week to accommodate jurors whose children were on a school break.

'I am loath to lose another juror, but I am also loath to lose another week of trial,' Caproni said.

Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz and Michael R. Sisak in New York; Mike Catalini in Morrisville, Pennsylvania; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

LONDON (AP) ' The former Prince Andrew and Peter Mandelson, the U.K.’s former ambassador to Washington, were arrested within days of each other for their ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and both are under investigation for the same offense: misconduct in public office.

Neither of them has been charged, yet, but their high-profile arrests have shone a spotlight on an ancient law that experts say is ill-defined, too broad and direly in need of reform.

Police have not disclosed details of how they questioned Mountbatten-Windsor and Mandelson. But documents recently released by the U.S. government suggest both of them were close to Epstein and may have leaked sensitive information to him.

The trove of files suggest the former prince, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, passed confidential trade reports, among other documents, to Epstein when he was serving as the U.K.s trade envoy from 2001 to 2011.

In the case of Mandelson, the documents suggest the veteran Labour Party politician may have shared an internal government report with Epstein and told the financier that he would lobby for a cut on tax on bankers’ bonuses when he held the title of Business Secretary around 15 years ago.

Both men previously denied wrongdoing and have not commented on the most recent allegations.

A difficult offense to prove

The Crown Prosecution Service ' which conducts criminal investigations in England and Wales ' defines misconduct in public office as 'serious willful abuse or neglect of the power or responsibilities of the public office held.' There must be a direct link between the misconduct and an abuse of those responsibilities, it said.

The offense carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Prosecutors must investigate all the evidence gathered on the men to consider if it is enough to prove misconduct in each case.

Experts say proving the offense, which can be traced back to medieval times, is notoriously difficult.

There is no simple definition of what constitutes a 'public officer.” It may be particularly difficult to prove Mountbatten-Windsor was the holder of a public office when he was the U.K.s special representative for international trade and investment ' an unsalaried role with paid travel expenses.

Prosecutors must next establish if the suspects willfully neglected to perform their duties or willfully committed misconduct.

The neglect or misconduct must also be so serious that it amounts to an abuse of public trust.

Finally, the actions must be deemed to be 'without reasonable excuse of justification,” according to the prosecution service.

‘The law is in need of reform

The Law Commission, an independent legal body that makes reform recommendations to the government, says the wording of the offense is unhelpfully vague. The commission has called for years for it to be repealed and replaced by more specific offenses.

'The law is in need of reform, in order to ensure that public officials are appropriately held to account for misconduct committed in connection with their official duties,' the Law Commission said on its website.

Another of the commission’s concerns is that most prosecutions of the offense have been directed at low- to midranking officials and staff such as police and prison officers, rather than senior managers or politicians.

Both Mountbatten-Windsor and Mandelson were released after police questioning.

Marcus Johnstone, managing director of PCD Solicitors, a law firm that is not involved in the cases, said the bar is 'extremely high' to reach a conviction, and that he does not expect to see any conviction against either man. He said if either was convicted, the sentences would probably be from one to 10 years in prison.

'It must be noted that cases involving government ministers or trade envoys charged with misconduct in public office are extremely rare, and there is no real guidance as to the expected sentence,' Johnstone said.

'Although an investigation is now taking place,” he added, “we are still a long way away from a potential prosecution.'