Starmer's sister-in-law 'scared' after arson attack on her home, court hears

The prime minister's sister-in-law was "scared" and "struggling to breathe" after an arson attack at her home, the Old Bailey has heard.

On 12 May 2025, a fire was discovered at the entrance of Sir Keir Starmer's property in Kentish Town, north London, which was being rented out to his sister-in-law Judith Alexander.

Ukrainian nationals Roman Lavrynovych 22, and Petro Pochynok, 35, and Ukrainian-born Romanian national Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, are accused of targeting this house, another property and a car linked to Sir Keir last year. They deny all the charges.

On the second day of their trial, jurors heard how Alexander became aware of the fire at 01:00 BST while awake in bed on her phone.

In a witness statement read by a prosecutor, Alexander said her partner was asleep next to her and her daughter was asleep downstairs in her room just above the fire.

"All of a sudden I heard two bangs," she said. "It was very loud and sounded like two wheelie bins had been thrown at the door."

She described looking down into the street and seeing "black billowing smoke" and an "orange glow where the door was".

"I was scared," she said.

The court heard how Alexander had called the fire brigade and also tried to phone her sister "Vicky" - referring to Sir Keir's wife, Victoria.

Alexander said her daughter was "really frightened" and came into her bedroom to say she could smell smoke before providing "Covid masks" for everyone to wear.

"The house was full of smoke. I have asthma and was struggling to breathe," Alexander said.

It was only after the fire brigade had attended in the early hours of the morning that the "realisation of what happened really hit me", she added.

"The fact that [my daughter's] room was right above the fire and if I did not wake up, what might have happened. I was awake all night."

The incident followed two others connected to Sir Keir.

On 8 May 2025, a Toyota car previously owned by the prime minister was found on fire on the same street.

Three days later, a fire was discovered at flats linked to Sir Keir in nearby Islington.

Lavrynovych, Pochynok and Carpiuc, who all live in London, are charged with conspiring together - and "with others" - to damage property by fire between 1 April and 13 May 2025.

Lavrynovych is also charged with damaging property by fire with intent to endanger life on 11 and 12 May 2025 at two properties in north London connected to Sir Keir.

He faces alternate counts of damaging property by fire being reckless as to whether life is endangered.

The Old Bailey was told on Thursday about police interviews with the three defendants.

Lavrynovych is alleged to have carried out the attacks after being recruited and offered payment by a Russian-speaking Telegram user called 'El Money'.

The court heard how during a police interview after his arrest, he denied being involved in the fires, claiming he was at home on the dates of the first two incidents and visiting his friend, Petro, in Camden on the third.

He maintained his story after being shown data from his phone tying him to the locations.

At the end of the interview, an officer questioned if someone had asked him to start the fires.

Lavrynovych said: "I think you need to speak to a different person."

Asked who, he said: "I don't know, I never saw this person."

The officer asked: "Are you saying someone's asked you to set fire to these three addresses?"

"Yes," Lavrynovych replied.

In a prepared statement, he said the contact - he described as "El" - had offered him £1,500 to check for CCTV and had given him instructions about two addresses.

"He said that once done, he would pay me and I trusted him. I needed the money. He has not paid me though," Lavrynovych said.

"I felt threatened. He threatened me by saying that I would have to do the job as he knew where I lived. I was scared as my grandmother lives at the same address and I could not be sure that he would not do anything."

He said that he "did not commit arson at any address".

He also told police "El" offered to send money by PayPal or crypto but he did not have a crypto account and he was never paid.

Carpiuc and Pochynok made no comment in their police interviews.

The trial is expected to last three weeks.