A 21-year-old man has been charged with arson after London properties linked to Sir Keir Starmer caught on fire.
Roman Lavrynovych, a Ukrainian national from Sydenham, south-east London, has been charged with three counts of arson with intent to endanger life, the Metropolitan Police said.
Officers arrested the suspect in the early hours of Tuesday after fires at two homes in north London within 24 hours of each other.
Counterterror police were investigating whether the fires were linked because of the properties’ connection to Sir Keir.
Lavrynovych is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
In the early hours of Monday, the emergency services responded to a fire at the Kentish Town home where Sir Keir lived before becoming prime minister and moving into 10 Downing Street.
Police were alerted by the London Fire Brigade (LFB) to reports of a fire at the residential address at 1.35am.
Damage was caused to the property’s entrance but nobody was hurt.
A car linked to Sir Keir was set alight in the early hours of Thursday 8 May in the same street.
In the early hours of Sunday, firefighters dealt with a small fire at the front door of a house converted into flats in nearby Islington, which is also linked to the prime minister.
One person was assisted to safety via an internal staircase by crews wearing breathing apparatus, LFB said.
Bethan David, head of the Crown Prosecution Service counterterrorism division, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against this defendant are now active and that he has the right to a fair trial.
“It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”
