Two men convicted of arson plot targeting UK prime minister's properties

Two men face sentencing Friday after being found guilty of torching properties linked to the prime minister, in a case that has raised questions about foreign interference in British public life. A London court convicted two men on Monday of plotting a series of arson attacks on properties linked to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, orchestrated by a mysterious Russian-speaking figure who remains unidentified and uncharged. Roman Lavrynovych, 22, a Ukrainian national, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, a Romanian citizen, were found guilty at the Old Bailey of conspiring to damage property by fire. Lavrynovych was additionally convicted on two counts of arson reckless of danger to life. A third defendant, Petro Pochynok, 35, was acquitted. The men are due to be sentenced Friday. The attacks The three fires — all set overnight in May 2025 — targeted a Toyota car formerly owned by Starmer, the front door of a north London apartment building he had once held a directorial stake in, and his former home in Kentish Town, which had been rented to his sister-in-law after he moved into Downing Street. Nobody was injured. Occupants were nonetheless placed in serious danger. Starmer's sister-in-law heard a loud bang and struggled to breathe as smoke filled the stairway, her nine-year-old daughter left terrified. A resident of the apartment building was forced onto the roof after finding the hallways engulfed in smoke. Starmer told MPs the crimes were "an attack... on democracy and the values that we stand for." The handler Lavrynovych was recruited through the Telegram messaging app by a Russian-speaking figure known as "El Money," who offered him £3,000 in cryptocurrency — which Lavrynovych said he needed to pay for his father's medical treatment — to torch the properties and film the evidence for posting online. El Money provided detailed instructions on targets, how to mix flammable substances and how to avoid detection. Lavrynovych admitted setting the fires but said he had no idea who owned the properties and did not even know who Starmer was. He said he only continued after being threatened by El Money, and he never received payment. After the fires, El Money urged him to flee London and told him to send the code word "geranium" if detained by police. Carpiuc played a coordinating role handling logistics and payment arrangements, while Pochynok was allegedly recruited to film the fires as proof of completion. Questions remain about possible state link Commander Helen Flanagan, head of counter-terrorism policing for London, said the attacks were clearly designed to intimidate and create fear, but added there was "no evidence to suggest that this was a state-backed threat." Frank Ferguson, the Crown Prosecution Service's anti-terrorism chief, said the convictions showed that "those who commit criminal acts, including acts of arson, to pursue their, or others' agendas, will be investigated thoroughly and prosecuted robustly." The case has nonetheless prompted widespread speculation. The Financial Times reported its own investigation found El Money was located in Russia and linked to a prominent hacker group called NoName. A BBC investigation went further, finding evidence it says links the attacks to the Russian state and identifying a specific young Russian diplomat as the likely handler — claims the Russian embassy rejected, saying Russia "harbours no aggressive intentions towards Britain."