Keir Starmer's sister-in-law ‘frantically’ phoned Lady Victoria amid arson attack, court told

Charlie Peters
Thu, 30 Apr 2026 13:13:58 +0000

Sir Keir Starmer’s sister-in-law “frantically” tried to call Lady Victoria while sheltering her daughter from smoke amid an alleged arson attack in north London last year, a court has heard.

Ukrainians Roman Lavrynovych, 22, Petro Pochynok, 35, and Romanian Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, are on trial for allegedly plotting the arson attacks in Kentish Town, north London, last year.

Mr Lavrynovych, of Lewisham, has also been charged with damaging two properties by fire with intent to endanger life.

Jurors at the Old Bailey were told yesterday that two properties and a vehicle linked to the Prime Minister were set alight across five days in May 2025.

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Two houses, both in north London, were also damaged by fire.

The first house, which contains four flats, was managed by a company of which Sir Keir had been a director and shareholder until 1997.

The second house set alight was owned by Sir Keir and occupied by his sister-in-law. The Prime Minister had lived there until May 2024.

According to the prosecution, the spree of alleged arson attacks were said to have been orchestrated by a Russian-speaking Telegram contact known as “El Money”, who offered payment in cryptocurrency.

Jurors were told by prosecutor Duncan Atkinson that police had recovered more than 320 messages between Mr Lavrynovych and El Money.

Jurors were shown CCTV footage said to show Mr Lavrynovych buying white spirit in a B&Q store close to his address in southeast London two days before the car was set on fire.

The court also heard witness evidence relating to all three alleged arson attacks.

One statement included an account of the night of the third and final alleged arson attack on the house occupied by the prime minister’s sister-in-law.

The statement, read by prosecutor Sarah Przybylska, outlined how Sir Keir’s sister-in-law said she was awake when the fire started at the house.

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Keir Starmer's sister-in-law ‘frantically’ phoned Lady Victoria amid arson attack, court told

She lived at the property with her partner and daughter, who were said to be both asleep on the night of the alleged arson attack.

Jurors heard that soon after 1am, she returned to bed from visiting the toilet when “all of a sudden I heard two bangs".

"It was very loud and sounded like two wheelie bins had been thrown at the door," the court was told.

“I said to my partner, ‘What was that bang?’ and he woke up. I remember having a sidelight on.

"I decided to turn it off and went to the window to … look outside. I didn’t see anyone on the street, but when I looked down I saw smoke and an orange glow where the front door was.”

Jurors were told that the witness saw “black, billowing smoke” and said: “Oh my, there is a fire outside the house.”

“I was scared. I called 999 and asked for the fire brigade," she added.

Jurors heard that her partner went downstairs to inspect what had happened and noticed that “wires were on fire” and “there was lots of smoke … the stairs started to fill with smoke".

Continuing the statement, Ms Przybylska said that the witness’s daughter’s room was by the front door and that she had been woken by the smoke and had gone upstairs to her parents’ room.

“It was getting thicker and going upstairs," she added.

Jurors then heard that she tried to phone Lady Starmer, the Prime Minister’s wife.

She recalled: “During this time, I was frantically trying to call my sister Vic and anyone who would pick up my call. I could not get hold of anyone.”

The witness added that she could not remember the time that the fire brigade arrived as she was calming down her daughter upstairs.

Jurors were told that both the witness and her daughter wore Covid masks while waiting in a locked room upstairs.

“During this time, B [the daughter] was really frightened. I had to try and calm her down. B was extremely worried about A [her father] as he was downstairs.”

“I do not know what happened after this … the house was full of smoke.” Jurors were told that the witness had asthma and was “struggling to breathe".

Jurors heard that the daughter fell asleep upstairs in her parents’ room at around 4am after being calmed down by watching TV.

But Sir Keir’s sister-in-law said that she “could not go back to sleep and was awake all night.”

“I woke A up because the realisation of what had happened really hit me. B’s room was right above the fire. If I hadn’t woken up, what might have happened?”

The three defendants deny all charges against them. The trial, expected to run until late May, continues at the Old Bailey.