Construction worker accused of Starmer arson claims he was at pub during attacks

A construction worker accused of acting as the co-ordinator of an arson plot targeting the prime minister has told a court that he was drinking at a pub during the attacks.

Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, from Chadwell Heath, east London, is accused of assisting Ukrainian construction worker Roman Lavrynovych, who was promised £3,000 in cryptocurrency by a Russian-speaking man called El Money to set a series of three fires, but never got paid.

Lavrynovych, 21, from Sydenham, south London, is accused of setting fire to a family car that previously belonged to Sir Keir Starmer in Kentish Town, north London, the door of a flat in Islington where the prime minister had previously lived, and at his constituency home in Kentish Town on three nights between 8 May and 12 May last year.

He was allegedly assisted by Petro Pochynok, 35, a Ukrainian from Holloway, north London, who filmed the first attack.

Carpiuc, who appeared at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, denied assisting in arranging payment for the arson attacks and said he had been drinking in a pub in Notting Hill at the time.

He told the court, through a Russian interpreter, that he was educated in Russia until the age of 11, when his family moved first to Ukraine and then to Romania.

He said he has two older brothers and two younger sisters, most of whom live in Romania. His father and one of his brothers also live in the UK, while his mother lives in Ukraine.

Short-lived modelling career

Carpiuc said he had lived in Britain for "some time" and initially tried his hand at modelling after not having a job in Romania.

The jury was shown two pictures of Carpiuc modelling, which showed him in chinos and a pale blue shirt and in a white knitted cardigan and polo shirt.

"Seven years ago I decided to join a model agency, I think before I started working in security. I went to the modelling agency and they took a couple of photos of me," Carpiuc said.

He joined an app called Star Now, which offered work as an advertising model, modelling clothes, or work in the film industry, but said he later realised it was not for him due to it being "a complex and uneasy process and requires a lot of effort if you want to achieve something".

In March or April 2022, he also started work at the Omega Hotel in Paddington, earning between £2,200 and £2,400 a month, as well as working for "private clients" in the construction business through Vicontex, a company he founded with his older brother Marc.

Carpiuc was working at the Omega Hotel when Lavrynovych told him he wanted to set fire to a car for money and asked him to video the attack.

He claimed that he told Lavrynovych this was "pure stupidity" and that setting fire to cars was a serious crime, but put him in touch with his friend Pochynok, who agreed to take a video.

When Pochynok told him Lavrynovych had gone ahead with the arson attack on the vehicle, Carpiuc was "in shock" and "there were some swear words, quite a lot".

'Desperate for money'

After finishing work at 9am on 8 May, Carpiuc went to the pub, then collected some construction materials and delivered them to a construction site before returning to the pub.

Carpiuc said Lavrynovych was "really desperate to get money but he didn't explain to me why. He was telling me that he urgently needed money by May 10".

One explanation included medical treatment for Lavrynovych's father and to help him, Carpiuc put him in touch with a man called Viktor, who has a crypto account to receive the money he had been promised, Carpiuc said.

On the evening of 10 May, he was staying in the middle of London. He said he was working that day before going to the Champion pub in Notting Hill to meet two friends and continue drinking until 2am.

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Carpiuc said he had "no clue whatsoever" about the fires on the nights of 10 May and 11 May. He added that he was back in the Champion's pub with his two friends.

Carpiuc and Pochynok deny conspiracy to damage property by fire. Lavrynovych denies arson with intent to endanger life or being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

(c) Sky News 2026: Construction worker accused of Starmer arson claims he was at pub during attacks