Petro Pochynok, 34, was charged with conspiracy to commit arson with intent to danger life, the BBC reports. Two others—21-year-old Roman Lavrynobych, a Ukrainian national, and 26-year-old Stanislav Carpiuc, a Romanian national—have also been charged in connection with the blazes.
Metropolitan Police say that the three are tied to three incidents: a vehicle fire in Kentish Town, a fire at the prime minister's private home on the same street, and a fire at an address where he previously lived in north-west London.
The incident at the London address occurred around 1:35 am local time on May 12, according to the Metropolitan Police, who responded to reports of a fire at a London address. “Officers attended the scene. Damage was caused to the property’s entrance, nobody was hurt,” police said at the time, according to Reuters. “The fire is being investigated and cordons remain in place while enquiries continue.” The London Fire Brigade, which also responded to the incident, described the blaze as a “small fire.”
Pochynok was arrested on Monday in southwest London and is accused of conspiring with the other two suspects “and others unknown to damage by fire property belonging to another,” the police said.
Ukrainian national Lavrynovych has also been charged with three counts of arson with intent to endanger life. He appeared in court on Friday, where he did not enter any pleas to the charges. The third, Carpiuc, who was born in Ukraine but has Romanian nationality, was handed the same charge and will appear in court on Tuesday.
Police and fire services responded to the first incident on May 8, when a car sold by Starmer to a neighbor last year caught fire on his former street in Kentish Town. A second incident occurred early on May 11 in Islington, where a small fire broke out at the front door of a building Starmer once lived in during the 1990s. One person had to be rescued by firefighters using breathing equipment.
Just a day later, in the early hours of May 12, emergency crews responded to another fire at Starmer’s private residence. The entrance sustained damage, but no injuries were reported. The BBC reports that the property is currently rented by Starmer’s sister-in-law.
