A man has been remanded in custody after appearing in court charged in connection with fires at two properties and a car linked to the prime minister.
Roman Lavrynovych is accused of three counts of arson with intent to endanger life after the fires at various locations across north London.
The 21-year-old Ukrainian national spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address at a short hearing at Westminster magistrates court on Friday.
The prosecutor, Sarah Przybylska, said: “The defendant is charged with three offences of aggravated arson: on 8 May in relation to a car parked on a residential street in Kentish Town; on 11 May in relation to a residential property in Islington; and on 12 May in relation to a residential property on the same street in Kentish Town as where the car was parked on 8 May.
“The car and both properties were linked to the prime minister, Keir Starmer.” She added: “At this stage, the alleged offending is unexplained.”
Przybylska also told the court that Lavrynovych was interviewed under caution after his arrest and denied arson.
He was arrested in Sydenham, in south-east London, in the early hours of Tuesday, and charged on Thursday. The force said officers from the Met’s counter-terror command led the investigation because of the connections to a high-profile public figure.
In the early hours of Monday, the emergency services responded to a fire at the Kentish Town home where Keir Starmer lived before becoming prime minister and moving to 10 Downing Street.
Police were alerted by the London fire brigade (LFB) to reports of a fire at the residential address at 1.35am. Damage was caused to the property’s entrance but nobody was hurt. A car linked to Starmer 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.
