Proceedings are underway at the Old Bailey with Judge Mr Justice Garnham. The key points so far:
- Three men are charged with conspiracy to damage property by fire between 1 April and 13 May 2025: Roman Lavrynovych (22, Ukrainian), Petro Pochynok (35, Ukrainian) and Stanislav Carpiuc (27, Romanian). All three deny the charges.
- Lavrynovych faces additional charges of damaging two properties by fire with intent to endanger life on 11 and 12 May 2025.
- The prosecution says the three were paid by a Russian speaker known as “El Money,” communicated with via Telegram. The jury has been told they do not need to establish who El Money is or what motivated him.
- Three fires are alleged: a Toyota RAV4 on Countess Road, Kentish Town (8 May); a house converted into flats in Islington (11 May); and Starmer’s former Kentish Town home (12 May). White spirit or similar accelerant was allegedly used on the front doors.
- Lavrynovych visited a B&Q in Sydenham more than once to buy supplies including white spirit, according to the prosecution, supported by CCTV and receipts.
- Phone evidence from Lavrynovych’s device included images of the target car, a turpentine substitute bottle, a crypto QR code and a street map of the first attack location, all from the day before the first fire.
- Recovered messages show Lavrynovych allegedly told an Instagram contact he could earn £2,000 for setting a car on fire, and messaged El Money asking for jobs.
- At least 320 messages between Lavrynovych and El Money were recovered, though police could often only retrieve one side of Telegram conversations due to deletion or auto-delete settings.
The trial is expected to run until the end of May…
