Man charged over fires at homes linked to Sir Keir Starmer appears in court

A 21-year-old man has appeared in court charged with three counts of arson after three fires at two properties and a car linked to Sir Keir Starmer.

Roman Lavrynovych, a Ukrainian national from Sydenham, southeast London, was remanded in custody after appearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

He was arrested during the early hours of Tuesday and charged on Thursday, the Metropolitan Police said.

Officers from the Met’s Counter Terror Command have led the investigation due to the connections to the prime minister.

Police were called by the London Fire Brigade to reports of a fire an an address in Kentish Town at 1.35am on Monday.

Damage was caused to the entrance of the property, where Sir Keir lived with his family before they moved into 10 Downing Street, but no one was injured.

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

A car linked to Sir Keir was set alight in the early hours of Thursday 8 May in the same street.

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 the Prime Minister.

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

Wearing a grey tracksuit and aided by a Ukrainian interpreter, he only spoke to confirm his name and date of birth.

Senior District Judge Paul Goldspring told him: “The three charges you face are indictable only. That means I’m obliged to allocate them to the crown court. In this case that means the Central Criminal Court for a plea hearing on 6 June.”