Two men jailed for arson attacks linked to Keir Starmer

Two men have been jailed after a string of arson attacks on properties and a car linked to Keir Starmer, a case that exposed how easily a public figure’s private addresses can become targets for intimidation. Roman Lavrynovych, 22, received seven years in prison and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, was sentenced to two years at the Old Bailey after jurors convicted them over the May 2025 attacks in north London.

The fires were aimed at three separate sites tied to the prime minister. A Toyota RAV4 that had formerly belonged to Starmer was set alight in Kentish Town in the early hours of 8 May 2025. Three days later, a fire was started at the door of an Islington flat where Starmer had previously lived, and on 12 May a blaze was set at his constituency home in north London, which he owns and which was occupied by his sister-in-law, Judith Alexander, and her family. No one was injured, but prosecutors said the choice of front doors at occupied homes while residents slept created a serious risk to life.

Lavrynovych was also convicted of two counts of damaging property by fire while being reckless as to whether life was endangered. A third defendant, Petro Pochynok, 35, was acquitted of conspiracy to damage property by fire. The Crown Prosecution Service said the attacks were deliberate and dangerous, and that they were intended to intimidate and undermine public confidence.

The investigation was handed to Counter Terrorism Policing London after the third fire, reflecting the concern that the attacks were not random vandalism but a coordinated effort aimed at a senior elected leader. Police said Lavrynovych and Carpiuc were arrested within a week of taking charge, and that Carpiuc was detained at an airport as he tried to leave the country.

Detectives said they built the case from CCTV, phone data and thousands of translated messages. Prosecutors said the pair were directed through Telegram by a Russian-speaking contact known as “El Money”, who allegedly recruited them and promised Lavrynovych £3,000 in cryptocurrency. Commander Helen Flanagan said there was no evidence the plot had been orchestrated by a hostile state, but said the tasking was clearly meant to intimidate and create fear for the prime minister and attack the UK.

Mr Justice Garnham described Lavrynovych as a “useful idiot” and said he had been “utterly reckless” in endangering the occupants. The sentences close a case that has sharpened concern over politically motivated intimidation, online recruitment and the security of the homes that surround Britain’s elected leaders.