A Romanian national who was previously sentenced to prison for a string of arson attacks targeting properties and a vehicle linked to former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been deported from the United Kingdom, according to the Home Office.
The incidents began on May 8, 2025, when a car formerly owned by Sir Keir was set on fire on a street in Kentish Town where he had previously lived. Just three days later, on May 11, another fire broke out at an apartment building in nearby Islington that also had past ties to the former prime minister.
A third fire occurred the following day at the entrance of Sir Keir's Kentish Town residence, which was being rented out to his sister-in-law, Judith Alexander. During the trial, Alexander testified that she was inside the home with her partner and daughter when thick black smoke began billowing up the stairwell.
Stanislav Carpiuc and an associate, Lavrynovych, were subsequently found guilty of conspiring together and with others to commit criminal damage by fire between April 1 and May 13, 2025. A journalistic investigation later uncovered that the arson campaign was part of a broader operation involving sabotage and provocation connected to the Russian state.
Evidence indicated that a handler known as EL directed Lavrynovych, offering Russian citizenship in exchange for additional attacks while praising President Vladimir Putin. Further investigative findings suggested that the handler may have been a young Russian diplomat.