Toxic stink at £300m Euro HQ

THE headquarters of the European Council had to be shut yesterday ahead of a summit of national leaders after poisonous fumes caused staff to fall ill.

It means the £300million Europa building in Brussels will no longer host today’s meeting of EU heads of state over fears they could be exposed to toxic gases.

Ambulances were called to the Council’s headquarters for the second time in only five days yesterday. The closure will raise eyebrows as the building opened only recently after years of construction and a series of delays. Officials insisted there are ‘no safety fears’ and that the move is a precautionary measure for the ‘well-being of everybody’.

The fumes are understood to have been created by a combination of chemicals in the building’s kitchen.