If the morning session at the Old Bailey established the bones of the prosecution’s case against three men accused of targeting properties linked to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, the afternoon put flesh on them.
What emerged was not merely an alleged picture of arson for hire, but something more methodical: operational security instructions, a filmed attack, a return to the scene to document the damage, and a defendant allegedly pressing his paymaster for money to fund his father’s medical treatment while the fires were still warm.
All three defendants deny every charge put to them. The defence has not yet spoken. That must be said plainly, and said first.
“Delete everything. Clean your phone.”
When proceedings resumed after lunch, prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC turned to messages exchanged between the defendants in the days leading up to the first fire on 8 May 2025. Lavrynovych, the court was told, sent instructions to co-defendant Stanislav Carpiuc: “Delete all messages on Instagram and SMS, you’re going on the job today.” Carpiuc is alleged to have replied: “Mine is all clean.” Lavrynovych pressed further: “All the same check messages, everything, everything. Clean up everything.”
The jury was then shown an alleged exchange between Lavrynovych and Petro Pochynok on the night of 7 to 8 May, the night the Toyota RAV4 formerly owned by the Prime Minister was set alight on Countess Road, Kentish Town. Pochynok is alleged to have asked: “What time shall we meet?” Lavrynovych replied: “To take a video.” When Pochynok confirmed he knew where the road was, Lavrynovych allegedly responded: “Look we won’t talk much on the phone, at that address there’ll be a car. We need to check if there’s a car, if it’s there we do the job.” The final message, the court heard, was simply: “It’s on.”
Filmed at the scene
The prosecution alleges the defendants did not merely carry out the attack on the RAV4. They filmed it. A still image recovered from a phone shows a figure dressed in black standing before the vehicle, a bright light visible beside him. Atkinson told the jury this was Lavrynovych, filmed by Pochynok, in the act of setting the car alight.
The car’s owner, who had purchased the vehicle from the Prime Minister in September 2024, discovered what had happened when she looked out of her window and saw it burning. Neighbours had already called the fire brigade. The call was timed at 2:53am.
The following morning, Lavrynovych is alleged to have complained to Pochynok that the video “came out badly,” adding: “I will go back today to finish the job. The video is bad. Two seconds and we will get the money.” Pochynok is alleged to have replied that he was busy at work.
Return to the scene
Three nights later, on 11 May, a fire was set at a residential property on Ellington Street, Islington. The Prime Minister had previously been a director of the company holding the freehold on the building. CCTV placed Lavrynovych on Ellington Street just after 2am. A video was recovered, shown to the jury in court, of a person repeatedly attempting to light a match before throwing it onto material placed against a front door soaked in accelerant.
What followed was striking. Later that day, Atkinson told the court, Lavrynovych returned to the scene. Transport for London data and phone location information tracked his journey. He arrived at Highbury and Islington station and messaged his contact: “On the spot.” Then: “Where shall I send it to?” Then: “A photo.” The alleged reply from “El Money” was: “And a video if you get a chance.” An image of the damaged front door at Ellington Street was subsequently recovered from Lavrynovych’s phone.
“Geranium”
It was the final passage of the prosecution’s afternoon that produced the most striking detail of the day. After the second fire, and before the third, Atkinson told the court that “El Money” sent the defendants a message that read as follows: “You attacked the home of a very high-ranking individual in Britain. I will send the money. You need to leave the city. If police take you, you need to send a secret message: use the word geranium. I will give you money for a week.”
The prosecution also set out that in the aftermath of the second fire, Lavrynovych repeatedly pressed “El Money” for payment. In one exchange, he wrote: “You will tell me how much and when to expect it. Tell me please.” “El Money” replied: “Yes everything is great, you will get your money, don’t worry, I will keep in touch.” Lavrynovych pushed back: “I know this, it’s just it would be better if it were sooner.” The court heard that he told his contact the money was needed for his father’s medical treatment, and that he was waiting for a “crypto screenshot” as confirmation of payment. Atkinson suggested to the jury that this was “pretty forceful language for someone setting the fires because they were afraid of the person telling them to do it.”
Where proceedings stand
The prosecution has now outlined the substance of its case across a full day at the Old Bailey. The evidence presented encompasses phone location data, CCTV footage, recovered images and video, encrypted messages on Telegram, and the cryptocurrency payment trail connecting the defendants to the figure known only as “El Money.” That figure remains unidentified. The jury has been directed that identifying him is not their task.
This case is not prosecuted under counter-terrorism legislation. Authorities have stated previously that there is no confirmed evidence of Russian state direction. Those remain the official positions.
The defence has not yet presented its case. Nothing reported here is any indication of guilt or innocence. Roman Lavrynovych, Petro Pochynok, and Stanislav Carpiuc deny all charges. The jury will decide what the evidence means.
Labour Heartlands will continue to follow proceedings at the Old Bailey.
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