Arrest over suspected arson on property linked to Keir Starmer

Police have arrested a man over suspected arson attacks on two properties linked to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and a car.

The 21-year-old was arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and remains in custody, Metropolitan Police said.

Emergency services responded to a fire at the prime minister's private home in Kentish Town, north London, early on Monday.

On Sunday, first responders were called to a small fire at the front door of a house converted into flats in nearby Islington, a property also linked to Sir Keir.

One person was helped to safety by firefighters, London Fire Brigade said.

Police are also looking at a small car fire, on the same street as the Kentish Town property, on Thursday as part of the investigation.

Counter-terrorism police are leading the inquiry and are treating the fires as suspicious.

"As a precaution and due to the property having previous connections with a high-profile public figure, officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command are leading the investigation into this fire," the Metropolitan Police said.

Police investigate the scene of the fire in Kentish Town

The car fire occurred just before 03:00 BST on Thursday.

Linda Perry, 80, who lives on the same street, described being woken up saying "you could see the flames without looking outside the window.

She said: "I could hear two people shouting 'fire, fire' - they looked like food delivery men. As I looked out you could see it [the fire] lighting up the street."

Another resident on the street said the smell of the fire being put out was "unpleasant" and described five firefighters tackling the blaze.

"This area is usually super quiet - so this really is unusual."

The first fire at a property was reported in Islington on Sunday just after 03:00.

"It's very concerning," said one neighbour who woke up during the fire and saw three fire engines parked outside.

Another neighbour said she was not woken up by the fire engines, but instead by police knocking on her neighbour's door at 05:00.

The police were in the area until early evening and then back again on Monday, making house-to-house inquiries asking for footage "even of someone walking by," she said.

She said she and other residents had not been aware of the Sir Keir link, but now they worry about what they can do "to protect themselves from further unwelcome visitation".

Damage at the door of the property in Islington

The second property fire took place in Kentish Town on Monday at 01:11. The small fire was under control about 20 minutes later.

There was damage to the property's entrance but nobody was hurt, the police said.

Sir Keir is understood to still own the home, but lives at Downing Street.

He lived in the home before the 2024 general election and it has been rented out since then.

A boarded-up door at a property in Kentish Town understood to be owned by Sir Keir Starmer

On Monday, Sir Keir thanked the emergency services for their work, his official spokesman said.

He added the matter was "subject to a live investigation so I can't comment further", and declined to provide any further details on who was in the property when the fire started.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC she had been briefed on the incidents but could not comment further.

"Police are investigating these incidents and they have my full support in doing so," she said.

"With any incident, there are always the important concerns that all of us will have, but we also have confidence in our police and the work that they are doing to investigate this incident."

Additional reporting by Billy Kenber