Romanian national convicted for arson targeting Keir Starmer’s home deported

The Romanian national was sentenced to two years in prison in May this year, while his friend Roman Lavrynovych, a Ukrainian, was jailed for seven years.

The Home Office has now confirmed that Carpiuc has been removed from the UK, the Mail reports.

A Home Office spokesman said: "This was an abhorrent attack and the conviction and imprisonment of these men should send a clear message to anyone blinded by the promise of money from strangers.

"You will be caught and face severe consequences.

"This individual has now been deported from the UK."

Two houses and a car linked to Sir Keir were set alight in north London in May last year.

Lavrynovych, who carried out the arson attack, was acting on the instructions of an anonymous Telegram user called El Money, in an Old Bailey trial earlier this year.

The anonymous figure was reportedly linked to a Russian online sabotage network.

The court also heard that El Money offered Lavrynovych £3,000 in cryptocurrency if the blazes were filmed and made the news.

Carpiuc supported and encouraged his friend and was going to help him convert the promised payment into cash.

Anyone who is deported from the UK is subject to a ban on re-entering the country.

The court heard how Lavrynovych had first set fire to a Toyota Rav4 which was once owned by Sir Keir.

Days later, the front doors of two houses were set ablaze, including the Prime Minister’s home, which has been occupied by his sister-in-law since he moved to Downing Street.

The north London attacks in the middle of the night, while people were asleep, posed a serious threat to life and left householders terrified, the Old Bailey heard.

Sir Keir’s sister-in-law, Judith Alexander, described her alarm at seeing billowing black smoke rising up the stairs while she, her daughter, and her partner were in the house.

In the aftermath, El Money encouraged Lavrynovych to flee, saying: "Look, you attacked the home of a very high-ranking person in Britain. I’ll send you money; you need to leave the city."

Lavrynovych was charged on May 15 last year and Carpiuc was stopped at Luton Airport as he waited for a flight to Romania two days later.

In his defence, construction worker Lavrynovych, from Sydenham, south London, admitted the arson attacks but claimed he had been threatened by El Money.

Carpiuc’s barrister Shahid Rashid said his client was "always the money man".

He told the court: "His function was to realise the cryptocurrency. It is also important he was not going to get anything out of it. His motivation was helping a friend out who needed money desperately for his father’s medical treatment."

Counter Terrorism Policing London said it has found no evidence linking any specific person, group or organisation to the El Money social media account.

Commander Helen Flanagan, head of CTP London, said: "The prison sentences in this case reflect the incredibly reckless actions of the two men involved.

"I would like to praise the swift work of the investigation team who identified the men involved within a few days of the fires. Crimes, such as arson, being directed by anonymous online accounts promising payment is a recurring trend in our casework.

"Our message to anyone who might be approached in this way, or thinking about doing similar, is to think again. As we’ve seen here, you will not get paid as you are promised; you will be identified and brought to justice, and the only thing you will be left with is facing the prospect of a lengthy jail sentence."