Two men found guilty over arson attacks linked to Keir Starmer | UK news
Two men were found guilty of conspiring to carry out arson attacks on a car and property belonging to Keir Starmer.
Roman Lavrynovych, 22, from Ukraine, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, from Romania, were found guilty at the Old Bailey on Monday. Another Ukrainian man, Petro Pochynok, 35, He was acquitted of the same charge.
Lavrynovych was also found guilty of damaging two properties by fire on May 11 and 12 last year by being careless about whether life was endangered. He was acquitted of two counts of arson with intent to endanger life.
His Honor Judge Garnham remanded the defendants in custody for sentencing on Friday. Jurors deliberated for seven hours and 26 minutes before reaching a unanimous verdict. Lavrynovych and Carpiuc will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday.
During a months-long trial, the jury heard that a mysterious Russian-speaking figure called El Money, or “Hroshi” in Ukrainian, offered to pay three men to set fire to a car belonging to Starmer and two houses.
The anonymous caller, communicating in Russian, offered Lavrynovych £3,000 worth of cryptocurrency in exchange for starting the fires, filming them and putting them on the news.
Starmer’s sister-in-law, Judith Alexander, was living with her husband and daughter at the prime minister’s former home in Kentish Town on May 12, 2025, when her front door was set on fire.
“I didn’t see anyone on the street,” Alexander told the court in April, “but when I looked down I saw smoke and an orange glow where the front door was.”
After the arson attacks, El Money told Lavrynovych to leave England. “Look, you attacked the home of a very high-ranking person in Britain,” El Money wrote on Telegram. “I will send you money, you must leave the city.”
Lavyronvych was arrested at his home in Sydenham, south-east London, on 13 May 2025. Carpiuc was arrested at Luton airport on May 17 while waiting to board a flight to Romania.
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of counter-terrorism policing in London, said there was “no ideological motivation” for the defendants and “there is no evidence to suggest they knew who they were targeting and that it was the prime minister or properties connected to the prime minister”.
He added: “However, it is clear that the online officer’s intention was to create fear for both the victim and the prime minister, and to create uncertainty and unrest for the UK.”
Following the verdicts, attorney general Frank Ferguson said: “These were deliberate and dangerous acts of arson against a vehicle and property connected to the Prime Minister and posed serious danger to life.
“These types of crimes go beyond damaging property; they aim to intimidate and undermine public trust and will not be tolerated.”
