Lavrynovych Convicted in 3 Starmer-Linked Arsons as UK Warns £1,500 Proxy Tactic Is Growing
Updated
Updated · Reuters · Jun 15
Lavrynovych Convicted in 3 Starmer-Linked Arsons as UK Warns £1,500 Proxy Tactic Is Growing
3 articles · Updated · Reuters · Jun 15
Summary
22-year-old Roman Lavrynovych was convicted after prosecutors said he carried out three arson attacks on property linked to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and intended to endanger life.
£1,500 was the promised payment from a Telegram contact called "EL Money," who police say used cash and threats to recruit Lavrynovych, who told officers he did not know who Starmer was.
British counter-terrorism officials say the case fits a widening pattern in which hostile states, freelance operatives or criminal gangs use low-level recruits—often young men or minors—to stage sabotage while masking who is behind it.
More than 600 Russian operatives were expelled from Britain after the 2018 Skripal poisoning, pushing Moscow and, increasingly, Iran toward proxies, UK officials say; both countries deny directing such attacks.