Man tells court he was threatened into setting fire to car linked to Starmer

A Ukrainian man has admitted setting fire to a car that once belonged to Keir Starmer for £3,000, after telling a court he had been being threatened by a “powerful” Russian-speaking man using the pseudonym El Money. Roman Lavrynovych, 22, is accused, along with Stanislav Carpiuc and Petro Pochynok, of arson attacks on a vehicle and two houses in north London linked to the prime minister. A Toyota Rav4 which once belonged to Starmer was burnt out in Kentish Town in the early hours of 8 May last year. The blaze was treated as suspicious after two more attacks on property connected to the prime minister days later. Giving evidence at the Old Bailey in London, Lavrynovych said he had initially refused El Money’s offer of £3,000 in cryptocurrency because he was scared of getting caught by police. The court heard El Money became threatening and told Lavrynovych, who was living with his grandmother in Sydenham, south London, that he had “better do this job” because he knew where he lived and it “might be dangerous” for him. Lavrynovych told jurors he agreed “because I felt that there is a threat towards myself and my family. My fear was genuine”. Asked by James Scobie KC, defending, what made him conclude that he meant business, he said:“He told me he is a high-profile person. Maybe he had some connections, maybe he is connected to politics. He said he is like a person with a high status. …