Third man, 34, arrested in Chelsea over ‘arson attack’ on Keir Starmer’s home
A THIRD man has been arrested in connection with a series of alleged arson attacks at homes linked to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The 34-year-old was arrested on Monday morning in Chelsea, London, on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life.
His arrest follows that of two other men in connection with three fires, including a vehicle blaze in Kentish town and a fire at the prime minister’s private home on the same street.
There had also been a fire at an address which Sir Keir had previously lived at in north-west London.
The 34-year-old has been taken into custody.
The second man, a 26-year-old, was arrested at 1.45pm on Saturday at London Luton Airport on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life.
He is currently still in police custody after a warrant of further detention was obtained at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, the Metropolitan Police confirmed.
21-year-old Roman Lavrynovych was charged last week with three counts of arson with intent to endanger life and appeared in court on Friday.
There, he entered no pleas to the charges and has subsequently been remanded in custody until his next scheduled hearing at the Old Bailey on June 6.
Last week, the Prime Minister broke his silence on the alleged arson for the first time, slamming the assault on “the values that we stand for”.
In the House of Commons for PMQs, Sir Keir said: “This is an attack on all of us, democracy and the values that we stand for.”
The PM’s £2m home in Kentish Town and another property linked to Sir Keir were targeted in alleged “firebomb” attacks earlier this week.
While the PM now lives in Downing Street, one of the two properties is rented to his sister-in-law and her family, it has emerged.
A separate attack to the house “firebombing” incidents involved a 4×4 which was parked on the same street at Sir Keir’s family home.
It’s since been revealed that the car had been sold to neighbours after belonging to the PM, according to the Standard.
London Fire Brigade responded to calls of flames at 1.11am on Monday and confirmed there was “damage” to the front of the townhouse.
Met Police officers were called to the scene at 1.35am after the LFB raised the alarm.
Police cordoned off the area and described it as a “crime scene” but insist no one was hurt.
One resident told The Sun he heard a “loud bang” on Wednesday and saw a 4×4 catch fire on the opposite side if the road.
Dan Nicholson, 36, said he called police after spotting the vehicle burning.
He told The Sun: “I heard a loud noise and looked out of my window at 3am and there was a car on fire.
“I called the police and shortly afterwards the fire brigade turned up.
“It was pretty dramatic. It was mad.”
In a statement released on Monday, police said: “A third man has been arrested in connection with a series of arson attacks in north London.
“A 34-year-old [C] was arrested this morning, Monday, 19 May, in the Chelsea area, SW3, on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life.
“He has been taken into custody.
“On Saturday, 17 May, a 26-year-old man [B] was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life.
“He is currently still in police custody after a warrant of further detention was obtained at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
“The arrests relate to three incidents – a vehicle fire in NW5 on 8 May, a fire at the entrance of a property in N7 on 11 May and a fire at a residential address in NW5 in the early hours of 12 May.
“All have connections with a high-profile public figure, and therefore officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command have led the investigation into the fires.
“A 21-year-old man [A] has already been charged with three counts of arson with intent to endanger life and appeared in court.”
If you have any information which could help police with their investigation, contact the force by dialling 101, quoting reference CAD 441/12 May.