Two men have been found guilty of conspiring to carry out arson attacks on property and a car connected to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – a plot that a BBC Panorama investigation has revealed was orchestrated by Russia.
Ukrainian national Roman Lavrynovych, 22, and Ukrainian-born Romanian national Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, were convicted by an Old Bailey jury on Monday, shortly before the BBC disclosed evidence implicating a 23-year-old Russian diplomat, Evgeny Lyukshin, as the handler known as “El Money”.
“Two men convicted of arson attacks on Starmer's properties; BBC reveals Russia behind plot; PM pleased justice done.”
The attacks began on 8 May 2025, when a Toyota once owned by Starmer was set alight in north London. Three days later, a fire was discovered at flats linked to the prime minister in Islington. On 12 May, a blaze was started at the entrance to Starmer’s Kentish Town home, which was being rented to his sister-in-law. She was inside with her family.
Prosecutors told the court that Lavrynovych was recruited online by “El Money”, a Russian-speaking Telegram user who promised payment and later sent messages including “there is news, you’ll get crypto” and “you need to throw away the clothes”. The BBC found that “El Money” offered Russian citizenship in return for other attacks and glorified Putin.
Speaking from the G7 summit in France, Starmer said he was “very pleased for my family’s sake” that the men were convicted. “Obviously it was a bad attack, and all the details have now come out in court and justice has been done,” he told reporters.
But the prime minister insisted the attack must be seen in the “broader context” of Russia’s war in Ukraine, citing Ukrainian territorial gains and the impact of sanctions. “It is the moment for the G7 to ramp up the pressure on Moscow,” he said.
The UK has announced 70 new sanctions targeting Russia’s “shadow fleet” and finance networks used to evade Western restrictions, following the boarding of an alleged shadow fleet oil tanker in the English Channel on Sunday.
Earlier, former MI6 head Sir Richard Moore warned that President Vladimir Putin is “trying to intimidate” the UK with sabotage, arson and cyber attacks. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Sir Richard said proxy attacks showed Britain needed a discussion about “the balance of resourcing for security and defence”.
At the G7, Starmer also faced questions about defence spending after the resignation of defence secretary John Healey over a settlement he described as “falling well short”. Starmer insisted he had made “hard-edged” decisions, cutting overseas aid and seeking cuts to government departments to complete the Defence Investment Plan. But he indicated that Healey’s replacement, Dan Jarvis, is still “reading into” the plan and deciding where to spend the £13.5 billion earmarked, with no new money yet identified.