A Ukrainian man charged with setting fire to properties linked to Sir Keir Starmer told detectives he had never heard of the Prime Minister and had no idea who he was, the Old Bailey has heard.
Roman Lavrynovych, 22, is one of three men on trial accused of targeting two properties and a car connected to Sir Keir in a series of arson attacks in north London in May 2025. A transcript of his police interview, read to jurors on Wednesday, revealed that when a detective asked whether he knew who the UK Prime Minister was, Lavrynovych replied simply: “No.”
Asked specifically whether he had heard of Keir Starmer, he again said no — but confirmed he had heard of Boris Johnson. When detectives told him Starmer was the current Prime Minister, Lavrynovych said he had no thoughts about him or the Labour government, no interest in British politics, and held no grudge against Sir Keir or his administration.
Lavrynovych is accused of carrying out the attacks after being recruited online by a Russian-speaking Telegram user operating under the name “El Money,” who allegedly promised him payment in return for targeting specific addresses. On 8 May 2025, a Toyota car previously owned by the Prime Minister was found ablaze in Kentish Town, north London — a street where Sir Keir previously lived. Three days later, fire broke out at flats in nearby Islington where the Prime Minister had previously resided. On 12 May, a fire was discovered at the front entrance of Sir Keir’s Kentish Town home, which was being rented to his sister-in-law at the time.
Jurors heard that after the final attack, “El Money” messaged Lavrynovych to say: “Look, you attacked the home of a very high-ranking person in Britain. I’ll send you money, you need to leave the city.” Lavrynovych was arrested hours later.
In police interview, Lavrynovych denied involvement in the fires, claiming he had been at home during the first two incidents. He was later shown phone data placing him at the locations. In a prepared statement, he said he had been approached with an offer of money to check the addresses for CCTV before carrying out the instructions, adding: “I needed the money. He has not paid me though.” He also claimed he had been threatened, saying the contact warned him he knew where he lived and that his grandmother shared the address. He maintained throughout that he did not commit arson.
Lavrynovych, of Lewisham, south-east London, faces charges of damaging property by fire with intent to endanger life, as well as alternate counts of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered. He is on trial alongside Petro Pochynok, 35, of Islington, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, of Romford — a Ukrainian-born Romanian national. All three are charged with conspiring together, and with others, to damage property by fire between 1 April and 13 May 2025. Pochynok and Carpiuc made no comment in their police interviews. All three deny the charges.
The trial continues.
