STARMER ARSON TRIAL: DAY ONE Prosecution Opens Case Against Three Men Accused of Targeting Properties Linked to the Prime Minister

Court 2, Old Bailey: Morning Session

Three men are on trial at the Old Bailey, accused of a coordinated campaign of arson attacks against properties connected to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Roman Lavrynovych, 22, a Ukrainian national from Sydenham; Petro Pochynok, 35, also Ukrainian, of Holloway Road in Islington; and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, a Romanian national from Chadwell Heath in east London, all appeared before Mr Justice Garnham on Monday. All three have pleaded not guilty to every charge put before them.

What the prosecution says

Opening the case, leading counsel for the Crown, Duncan Atkinson KC, told the jury that between 8 and 12 May 2025, the three defendants carried out, or conspired to carry out, three separate arson attacks on properties in north London, each of them connected to the Prime Minister.

The first fire was set to a Toyota RAV4 on Countess Road, Kentish Town, on 8 May. The vehicle had previously been owned by Sir Keir. Atkinson told the court that at the time, the fire was not initially treated as suspicious. Three days later, on the night of 11 May, fire broke out at the front door of a converted property on Ellington Street, Islington. Hours after that, in the early hours of 12 May, a second property on Countess Road was targeted: the Kentish Town address where the Prime Minister had lived before entering Downing Street. That property is understood to remain in his ownership.

In both residential cases, the prosecution alleges that white spirit, or a similarly flammable liquid, was used to ignite the front doors. The court was told that the fires and the smoke they produced put the occupants of those homes at risk.

No one was injured in any of the three incidents. Sir Keir was not present at any of the properties.

The money trail and “El Money”

The prosecution’s case rests substantially on phone and digital evidence recovered from the defendants’ devices. Atkinson told the jury that this data placed the defendants at or near the locations of the fires, and included images, video footage, and maps relating to the targeted properties. In the case of Lavrynovych, photographs recovered from his phone on the day before the first fire included an image of a bottle of turpentine substitute, shelving containing similar flammable substances in what the prosecution described as “perhaps a B&Q,” a circled photograph of the Toyota RAV4, a QR code for a cryptocurrency account, and a top-down street map showing the car’s precise location on Countess Road.

CCTV footage from a B&Q in Sydenham was played to the court, showing Lavrynovych shopping there. The prosecution alleges he visited the store more than once to acquire materials for the attacks.

The alleged paymaster for the operation is described by the prosecution as a Russian-speaking contact known only as “El Money.” Atkinson told the jury that the defendants, who did not ordinarily communicate in Russian, used that language exclusively when dealing with this individual.

At least 320 messages between Lavrynovych and “El Money” were recovered from the defendant’s phone, beginning in September 2024 with payments for putting up posters and escalating, the Crown alleges, to payments of up to £2,000 for setting a vehicle on fire.

Among the messages presented to the court, Lavrynovych is alleged to have asked “El Money”: “Hello, long time no speak, have you any jobs?” On 1 May, days before the first fire, “El Money” is alleged to have sent the message:

“Hi, did it work? Are you alive?” to which Lavrynovych replied that he was alive but that “it didn’t go well.” He reportedly added that “the job is still on.”

Atkinson was explicit with the jury that identifying “El Money” is not their task. The jury’s sole concern, he said, is whether the three defendants before them are guilty of the charges they face. The prosecution’s position is that the men acted for money, not for political or ideological reasons.

Important context

This case is being led by Counter Terrorism Policing London, reflecting the seriousness of any attack on a sitting Prime Minister’s properties. However, it is important to note that the charges are not brought under counter-terrorism legislation, and authorities have indicated previously that there is no evidence this constitutes an act of terrorism or that there is any confirmed indication of Russian state involvement. Those remain the official positions at this stage.

The alleged involvement of a Russian-speaking payment handler, and the use of an encrypted messaging platform and cryptocurrency, are matters the jury will weigh in due course.

The prosecution has outlined its case. The defence has not yet had the opportunity to challenge the evidence or present its own account. A fourth man, arrested at Stansted Airport in June 2025, was released without charge. A fifth individual, a 19-year-old from Harlow, was detained in January 2026 and remains under investigation.

All three defendants remain in custody at HMP Belmarsh. The trial is expected to continue until the end of May.

We will continue to follow proceedings as they develop. Nothing reported here constitutes any indication of guilt or innocence: that is a matter for the jury alone to decide.

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