Ukraine-born model suspected in arson attack on British PM’s home – media
A Ukrainian-born male model has become the second suspect to be charged in a UK arson investigation involving properties linked to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, national media have reported.
Romanian citizen Stanislav Carpiuc, 26, was charged with conspiring alongside fellow suspect Roman Lavrynovych – a Ukrainian national who was detained last week – and others in a series of attacks targeting locations in north London, according to a statement from the Metropolitan Police on Tuesday.
Carpiuc was arrested Saturday at London Luton Airport by counterterrorism officers, who were called in because the properties are connected to “a high-profile public figure,” police said. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday morning and was remanded in custody until a further hearing alongside Lavrynovych on June 6.
According to British media, the targets of the arson between May 8 and May 12 included a car once owned by Starmer, his private residence, and an address he used to live at.
Carpiuc is believed to be the same individual listed as a male model based in London. According to public profiles, he was born in Chernivtsi, a town in western Ukraine with a significant ethnic Romanian population.
The Daily Mail reported that Carpiuc is an aspiring actor and currently works in construction.
Lavrynovych, 21, a Ukrainian national arrested on Tuesday last week, reportedly runs a building company and has also signed with a modelling agency.
A third suspect, a 34-year-old individual whose identity has not been released, was arrested Monday and remains in custody, police said.
Both Carpiuc and Lavrynovych have been charged with reckless endangerment of life. According to The Telegraph, the Starmer family home located in Tufnell Park is currently rented by the prime minister’s sister-in-law and was occupied during the attack.
Addressing Parliament last week, Starmer condemned the alleged arsons, calling them “an attack on all of us, on democracy and the values that we stand for.”
