Two guilty over Starmer-linked arson as PM pushes social media ban

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 – as he announced a sweeping ban on social media for under-16s. Ukrainian national Roman Lavrynovych, 22, and Ukrainian-born Romanian national Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, were convicted by an Old Bailey jury of conspiring to damage property by fire. In May 2025, a Toyota once owned by Sir Keir was set alight in a street in north London. Days later two homes were set ablaze, including one rented out to the prime minister's sister-in-law, which he still owned. She was inside with her family when the property was set alight by Lavrynovych. The court heard Lavrynovych had been recruited online by a Russian-speaking Telegram user using the alias “El Money”, who promised him payment but never delivered thousands he was promised for the arson attacks. A third man, Petro Pochynok, 35, was found not guilty of conspiracy to commit arson. The convictions came on the same day Starmer announced a ban on platforms including X, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok for children under 16 – making the UK the second country in the world to impose such sweeping limits, after Australia. “I honestly think that across world leaders, there has always been a recognition that leaders have to take steps to protect children,” Starmer said, adding that he had discussed the plan with US President Donald Trump on Saturday. But ministers have embarked on a concerted lobbying operation to avert a backlash from the Trump administration, fearing retaliation. Officials said they had spent weeks trying to reassure senior Trump officials that the restrictions were not specifically aimed at US technology companies. Elon Musk, owner of X, posted: “This censorship law is a wolf in sheep's clothing. The real goal is to enable the UK government to track everyone.” The plans also include preventing under-16s from live-streaming, banning adults from making unsolicited contact with children on gaming sites, and banning under-18s from engaging with “romantic” chatbots. At a Downing Street press conference, the room erupted into applause. Among those cheering were ex-Love Island personality Georgia Harrison and parents from Smartphone Free Childhood. Co-founder Joe Ryrie said: “This moment belongs to the hundreds of thousands of parents who refused to stay quiet over the past two years. Together they've proved that ordinary people really can reshape public policy.” But not all campaigners were invited. Ian Russell, key architect of the Online Safety Act, was not at the announcement. His Molly Rose Foundation, along with 5Rights and youth-led charity FlippGen, were kept away from the fanfare and only invited to a later technical briefing. On the debate over whether the ban will work, Liam Walsh, who believes his daughter Maia took her own life as a result of social media, joined Joe Ryrie and Doniya Soni-Clark from Tech UK in a Channel 4 discussion – while six months after Australia's ban, reviews of its success remain mixed.