Two men jailed for arson attacks on properties linked to the Prime Minister
The pair were acting on the orders of an anonymous Telegram user
Two young men have been sentenced at the Old Bailey for plotting a series of arson attacks targeting Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Last May, a car and two houses linked to the Prime Minister were set on fire in north London.
Following a trial, Ukrainian Roman Lavrynovych, 22, and Romanian Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, were convicted of conspiracy to damage property by fire.
Lavrynovych has been sentenced to seven years - of which up to four years and eight months will be in custody.
Carpiuc has been jailed for one year - with a second year on licence.
The pair were acting on the orders of an anonymous Telegram user called El Money who was reportedly linked to a Russian online sabotage network.
In mitigation for Lavrynovych, James Scobie KC stressed the “shame” he had brought on his family in Ukraine.
Mr Scobie said: “He gained absolutely nothing from this. He was used on any view – utterly naive, utterly gullible, unthinking and a complete and utter foot soldier.
“How worrying that is for us all that there are individuals like this who are fodder for this type of infiltration who has not got a clue who the ‘big man’ was – turns who to be the Prime Minister.
“He is what he is – a boy, and a very immature boy at that.”
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