A Russian-speaking mastermind behind a series of arson attacks aimed to strike “fear” for the Prime Minister and cause “unrest” across the country, a counter-terrorism chief has said.
The warning comes as two stooges for the Russian-speaking taskmaster have been found guilty over a series of arson attacks on property linked to Sir Keir Starmer.
Last May, a Toyota Rav4 which was once owned by Sir Keir was set alight in a street in Kentish Town, north London.
Days later, two houses were set ablaze, including a north London home occupied by the Prime Minister’s sister-in-law and her family which he still owns.
The attacks in the middle of the night while people were in bed asleep posed a serious threat to life and left householders terrified, the Old Bailey heard.
Ukrainians Roman Lavrynovych, 22, and Romanian Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, were found guilty of plotting to damage property after a jury deliberated for seven-and-a-half hours.
Co-defendant Petro Pochynok, 35, was cleared of the same charge.
Lavrynovych was also convicted of damaging two properties by fire being reckless as to whether life was endangered on May 11 and 12 last year.
Mr Justice Garnham remanded the defendants into custody to be sentenced on Friday
Police arrested the defendants within a week of the attacks ordered by a shadowy Telegram contact called El Money.
The anonymous Russian speaker had offered Lavrynovych £3,000 in cryptocurrency if the blazes were filmed and got on the news.
Following the convictions, Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) London, said there was nothing to indicate El Money was a “state threat”.
However, the motivation behind the attacks had been to “cause concern” and “disruption” in the community within the UK and “fear” for the Prime Minister, she said.
She said: “I think the intentions of the defendants was clearly to take payment, and to carry out a crime for money.
“There was no ideological motivation around that, and there’s no evidence to suggest that they knew who they were targeting, and that that was the Prime Minister or properties linked to the Prime Minister.
“However, clearly the intention from the online tasker was to create fear, both for the victim and the Prime Minister, and cause uncertainty, unrest, for the UK.”
Ms Flanagan said the two defendants had acted as criminal proxies for El Money and issued a warning to anyone else tempted by “easy cash”.
She said: “Be under no illusion that if we identify you being involved in an attack within the UK, we will focus our investigation, you will be brought to justice very quickly, and you are likely to face a very lengthy prison sentence as a result of that.”
The court heard how Lavrynovych was first tasked by El Money to set light to the Toyota Rav4 on May 8 last year.
He had tried to rope in Mr Pochynok to film it after first approaching his friend Carpiuc, jurors had heard.
Three nights later, a blaze was reported at a house in nearby Ellington Street in Islington which was managed by a company of which the Prime Minister had once been a director and shareholder.
Jurors were shown a video shot by Lavrynovych of a lit match being thrown on to accelerant on the doorstep of the address.
A resident of the top-floor flat was woken by the smell of smoke about half-an-hour later and escaped to the roof to call the fire brigade.
Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC said the fire spread to the hallway inside the building, posing an “obvious” risk to the occupants of the four flats.
In the early hours of May 12 last year, the Prime Minister’s former home in Kentish Town was targeted.
His sister-in-law Judith Alexander, who lived there with her partner and daughter, said in a statement: “All of a sudden I heard two bangs. It was very loud and sounded like two wheelie bins had been thrown at the door.”
“I did not see anyone on the street but when I looked down I saw smoke and an orange glow where the front door was.”
As thick smoke crept upstairs, Ms Alexander said she had tried to call her sister Victoria, the Prime Minister’s wife.
She described her fear at the thought of “what might have happened” had she not woken up.
In the aftermath of the attacks, El Money encouraged Lavrynovych to flee, saying: “Look, you attacked the home of a very high-ranking person in Britain. I’ll send you money, you need to leave the city.
“If the police detain you, secretly write the word, ‘geranium’ and I’ll send a lawyer to you, I’ll give you money for a week and a new phone. We won’t be in touch for a week.”
Lavrynovych, of Sydenham, south London, was charged on May 15 last year.
Two days later, Carpiuc was stopped at Luton Airport as he waited for a flight to Romania
In his defence, construction worker Lavrynovych admitted setting fire to the property but claimed he had been threatened by El Money.
The true identity of El Money remains a mystery but Lavrynovych said he believed him to be “powerful” with political connections.
Previously, El Money had tasked him to paint racist graffiti on an Islamic community centre and post anti-Muslim fliers around for money.
Hotel worker Carpiuc, from Romford, east London, said he had refused to get involved and told Lavrynovych the plan was “stupid” and illegal.
His former housemate, Mr Pochynok, who was working in construction and as a Harrods delivery driver, told jurors that he did not know about the car arson plan until it was too late.
Mr Pochynok, of Islington, north London, said he thought Lavrynovych wanted him to help a mutual friend with heavy suitcases and had run away when he handed him a camera phone to film.
