Romanian man is second person to be charged over series of fires at properties in north London linked to Keir Starmer

20 May 2025, 08:49 | Updated: 20 May 2025, 11:57

Police Community Support Officers stand near the fire damaged doorway of a house belonging to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Kentish Town in London, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Police Community Support Officers stand near the fire damaged doorway of a house belonging to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Kentish Town in London, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth). Picture: Alamy

By Shannon Cook

A Romanian man is the second person to be charged over series of fires at properties in north London linked to Keir Starmer.

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The Met Police confirmed a "man has been charged with conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life following a series of fires in north London."

Stanislav Carpiuc, 26, of Romford, a Romanian national, has been charged with:

  • conspiring together with Roman Lavrynovych and others unknown to damage by fire property belonging to another,
  • intending to damage the property,
  • intending to endanger the life or another or being reckless as to whether the life of another would thereby be endangered.

Carpiuc is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 20 May at 10:00am.

The Met Police said: "The charge, which was authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service, relates to a period from Thursday, 17 April to Tuesday, 13 May this year, in which three incidents took place - a vehicle fire in NW5 on Thursday, 8 May, a fire at the entrance of a property in N7 on Sunday, 11 May and a fire at a residential address in NW5 in the early hours of Monday, 12 May.

"All have connections with a high-profile public figure, and therefore officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command led the investigation into the fires."

Carpiuc was arrested on Saturday, 17 May at London Luton Airport by counter terrorism officers from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit.

He was held in police custody after a warrant of further detention was obtained.

The Met Police statement continued: "As part of the same investigation, Roman Lavrynovych, 21, of Sydenham, a Ukrainian national, was charged with three counts of arson with intent to endanger life.

"A 34-year-old was arrested on Monday, 19 May, in the Chelsea area, SW3, on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life.

"He remains in police custody."

The police urged the public to "remain vigilant" if they "see or hear anything that doesn't look or feel right" and to "report it to the police".

Fire damage is seen in the doorway of a house belonging to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Kentish Town in London, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Fire damage is seen in the doorway of a house belonging to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Kentish Town in London, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth). Picture: Alamy

Last week, Sir Keir Starmer told the House of Commons the arson attacks were "an attack on all of us, on democracy and the values that we stand for".

Counter-terrorism officers worked "at pace" to establish the cause of the fires and "any potential motivation", Scotland Yard said.

Lavrynovych is due to appear at the Old Bailey for a hearing on June 6.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch condemned the attacks as "completely unacceptable".

"I think I speak for the whole house when I say that this wasn't just an attack on him, but on all of us and on our democracy," the Tory leader added.

Neighbours described hearing a loud bang and said police officers were looking for a projectile.

Police were alerted by the LFB to reports of a fire at the residential address at 1.35am on 12 May.

Damage was caused to the property's entrance but nobody was hurt.

In the early hours of Sunday, firefighters dealt with a small fire at the front door of a house converted into flats in nearby Islington, which is also linked to Sir Keir.

One person was assisted to safety via an internal staircase by crews wearing breathing apparatus, LFB said.