Man charged over fires at homes linked to PM

The charges relate to three incidents spanning a four-day period

A 21-year-old man has been charged after fires at two properties and a car linked to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, the Metropolitan Police has said.

Roman Lavrynovych, a Ukrainian national, was charged with three counts of arson with intent to endanger life on Thursday.

He was arrested at an address in Sydenham, south-east London, in the early hours of Tuesday. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday.

The charges relate to three incidents - a vehicle fire in Kentish Town, north London, a fire at the prime minister's private home on the same street and a fire at an address that he previously lived at in north-west London.

The investigation has been led by the Met's Counter Terrorism Command due to its links to a high-profile figure.

In the early hours of Monday 12 May, emergency services responded to a fire at the Kentish Town home where Sir Keir Starmer lived before becoming prime minister and moving into 10 Downing Street.

Counter terrorism police have been leading the investigation

Police were alerted by the London Fire Brigade (LFB) to reports of a fire at the residential address at 01:35 BST.

Damage was caused to the property's entrance but nobody was hurt.

The BBC understands the property was being rented out to the prime minister's sister-in-law.

A car that Sir Keir had sold to a neighbour last year was set alight four days earlier on Thursday May 8 on the same street.

Just after 03:00 on Sunday 11 May, firefighters dealt with a small fire at the front door of a house converted into flats in nearby Islington.

One person was helped to safety by firefighters wearing breathing apparatus, LFB said.

It is understood that the prime minister lived there in the 1990s.