Starmer welcomes arson convictions over attacks on family-linked property
Starmer said he was "very pleased for my family's sake" after jurors convicted two men over arson attacks on a car and homes linked to him.
Keir Starmer greeted the verdicts with relief that was personal and political at once, after jurors at the Old Bailey convicted two men over a string of arson attacks tied to his family. Speaking from the G7 summit in France, the prime minister said he was "very pleased for my family's sake" after the case moved toward sentencing.
Roman Lavrynovych, 22, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, were found guilty on 15 June 2026 of conspiracy to damage property by fire over three separate attacks on property and a car linked to Starmer. A third defendant, Petro Pochynok, 35, was acquitted. Lavrynovych was also convicted of two counts of damaging property by fire, reckless as to whether life was endangered. The two convicted men are due to be sentenced on 19 June 2026.
The attacks unfolded over three nights in May 2025 in north London. The first came in the early hours of 8 May 2025, when a Toyota RAV4 that had once belonged to Starmer was set alight in Kentish Town. Three days later, on 11 May, a fire was started at a house in Kentish Town. Another nearby house was attacked on 12 May. Prosecutors said the fires were deliberate, dangerous and posed a serious risk to life.
The case has sharpened concern about the threat faced by elected officials and the people around them, especially when political violence reaches into private family life. Counter Terrorism Policing London said the intention was to create fear and unrest, underscoring how attacks aimed at a public figure can also be designed to unsettle wider communities. The evidence presented in court pointed to a networked and highly targeted operation rather than a random act of vandalism.
Prosecutors said the attacks were planned and directed by a Russian-speaking Telegram contact known as "El Money", who allegedly promised Lavrynovych £3,000 in cryptocurrency. That detail has pushed the case beyond a straightforward arson prosecution and into the wider danger of online recruitment, transnational influence and the use of encrypted platforms to incite real-world violence. For Starmer, the verdicts closed one chapter of a case that forced his office and his family into the same line of fire.
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