Starmer arson accused tells court he didn’t know who PM was: ‘I just knew Boris Johnson’

A man who set fire to property linked to Sir Keir Starmer told a court he did not know the Prime Minister and “only knew Boris Johnson”.

Roman Lavrynovych, 22, is accused, along with Stanislav Carpiuc and Petro Pochynok, of carrying out an arson attack on Sir Keir’s vehicle and two houses in north London.

A Toyota Rav4 car once owned by Sir Keir burned down in Kentish Town in the early hours of May 8 last year.

The fire was treated as suspicious following two attacks on properties connected to the Prime Minister days later.

Lavrynovych, a Ukrainian national, was asked if he knew the name Sir Keir Starmer while giving evidence at the Old Bailey on Monday.

He said through a translator: “No I didn’t, I didn’t know about him and I wasn’t interested; I just knew Boris Johnson.”

The court heard that a taskmaster known as El Money instructed Lavrynovych to carry out the attacks and promised to pay him cryptocurrency in return.

But the defendant told jurors he was not paid before his arrest despite repeated requests.

They spoke on Telegram, and Lavrynovych said that the main purpose of El Money was to report on arsons.

The first target was the car on Countess Road in the early hours of May 11, the second was a nearby property on Ellington Street.

According to what was seen earlier in the hearing, this company was managed by a company of which the Prime Minister was once a director and shareholder.

According to the information obtained, a property belonging to the Prime Minister and occupied by his sister-in-law was set on fire on Countess Road the next night.

When Lavrynovych asked for payment after the third fire, El Money said: “So far everything is extremely quiet; there is not a single article or announcement about the incident on this street.”

The defendant suggested going to the address and conducting an investigation, the court was informed, and El Money responded as follows: “Get out of there immediately. Do not get involved. Delete all data, the situation is very serious.”

The court heard that shortly before 5pm on May 12, Lavrynovych sent him a link to the ITV news broadcast about the incident.

Lavrynovych told jurors that he did not know the people in the news at the time.

He texted El Money: “There is news. Already. I’m waiting for your response now. I’ll be waiting for the screenshot.”

The court heard the screenshot could be evidence of cryptocurrency being paid into Carpiuc’s account.

After once again requesting funds, El Money said: “Look, you attacked the home of a very high-ranking figure in England. I will send you money.”

“You need to leave the city. If the police detain you, send a secret message ‘geranium’ and I will send you a lawyer.

“I’ll give you money for a week’s expenses and a new phone. We won’t communicate for a week.”

The defendant said he never attempted to send a secret message by using the word geranium.

The court heard he was arrested in the early hours of the morning of May 13.

The defendants are accused of conspiring to damage property by starting fires between April 1 and May 13 of last year.

Lavrynovych is also accused of damaging two properties by fire with intent to endanger life or being careless about whether life was endangered on May 11 and 12 last year.

Lavrynovych, from Lewisham, south-east London, Carpiuc, from Romford, east London, and Pochynok, from Islington, north London, pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

The hearing before Mr Justice Garnham continues.