Two Ukrainian proxies guilty of arson attacks targeting Keir Starmer
Two Ukrainian stooges for a Russian-speaking taskmaster have been found guilty over a series of arson attacks on property linked to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
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A car and a house connected to Sir Keir Starmer were set on fire in Kentish Town, north London, in May last year.
Ukrainians Roman Lavrynovych, 22, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, a Romanian national born in Ukraine, were found guilty of plotting to damage property after a jury deliberated for seven-and-a-half hours.
Co-defendant Petro Pochynok, 35, was cleared of the same charge.
Mr Justice Neil Garnham remanded the defendants into custody ahead of a sentencing hearing on Friday
An anonymous Telegram entity known as El Money tasked the “criminal proxies” with carrying out the attacks, jurors heard.
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Over five days, police were called to fires at a house in north London connected to Starmer, another at a property nearby where he used to live and his sister-in-law still does, and to a blaze involving a Toyota car that also used to belong to the British leader.
In the early hours of May 8 last year, a Toyota Rav4 car which once belonged to Sir Keir was burnt out in Kentish Town.
Days later, there were two more attacks on houses in north London connected to the Prime Minister, including a house he still owns which is occupied by his sister-in-law and her family.
They were asleep in their beds when Lavrynovych set fire to the doorway in the early hours of the morning, potentially cutting off a route of escape.
Sir Keir's sister-in-law Judith Alexander, who lived there with her partner and daughter, said in a statement: “All of a sudden I heard two bangs. It was very loud and sounded like two wheelie bins had been thrown at the door.”
“I did not see anyone on the street but when I looked down I saw smoke and an orange glow where the front door was.”As thick smoke crept upstairs, Ms Alexander said she had tried to call her sister Victoria, the Prime Minister’s wife.
She described her fear at the thought of “what might have happened” had she not woken up.In the aftermath of the attacks, El Money encouraged Lavrynovych to flee, saying: “Look, you attacked the home of a very high-ranking person in Britain. I’ll send you money, you need to leave the city.
“If the police detain you, secretly write the word, ‘geranium’ and I’ll send a lawyer to you, I’ll give you money for a week and a new phone. We won’t be in touch for a week.”
Lavrynovych, of Sydenham, south London, was charged on May 15 last year.
Two days later, Carpiuc was stopped at Luton Airport as he waited for a flight to Romania.
In his defence, construction worker Lavrynovych admitted setting fire to the property but claimed he had been threatened by El Money.
The true identity of El Money remains a mystery but Lavrynovych said he believed him to be “powerful” with political connections.
Previously, El Money had tasked him to paint racist graffiti on an Islamic community centre and post anti-Muslim fliers around for money.
Hotel worker Carpiuc, from Romford, east London, said he had refused to get involved and told Lavrynovych the plan was “stupid” and illegal.
His former housemate, Mr Pochynok, who was working in construction and as a Harrods delivery driver, told jurors that he did not know about the car arson plan until it was too late.
Mr Pochynok, of Islington, north London, said he thought Lavrynovych wanted him to help a mutual friend with heavy suitcases and had run away when he handed him a camera phone to film.