Second arrest after fire at Keir Starmer's home

A 26-year-old man has been arrested at Luton Airport in connection with fires at two properties and a car linked to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the Metropolitan Police said. Scotland Yard announced the man was arrested at 1.45pm today (Saturday) on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life.

The force said in a statement: "The arrest was made by counter terrorism officers from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit. The man has been taken into police custody in London."

It comes after Roman Lavrynovych, a Ukrainian national, was arrested at an address in Sydenham, south-east London, in the early hours of Tuesday. The PM's north London home was targeted shortly after 1am on Monday. Firefighters rushed to the scene and counter-terror police launched an investigation.

The Metropolitan Police statement concerning the arrest today (Saturday) continued: "The arrest relates to three incidents - a vehicle fire in NW5 on 8 May, a fire at the entrance of a property in N7 on 11 May and a fire at a residential address in NW5 in the early hours of 12 May.

"All have previous connections with a high-profile public figure, and therefore officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command have led the investigation into the fires.

"Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should call police on 101 quoting CAD 441/12 May. We would ask the public to remain vigilant and if they see or hear anything that doesn't look or feel right, then to report it to police - either by calling police, in confidence, on 0800 789 321 or via www.gov.uk/ACT."

Previously, in relation to the fires, Roman Lavrynovych, a 21-year-old Ukrainian man, was charged with three counts of arson with intent to endanger life in connection with the fires.

Lavrynovych, of Sydenham, south-east London, denied arson in a police interview. He appeared in court on Friday and was remanded in custody until a further hearing at the Old Bailey scheduled for June 6.