lONDON, June 2 (Reuters) – British police on Monday arrested a fourth man as part of an investigation into a series of arson attacks linked to Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The 48-year-old, who was arrested at London Stansted Airport, was initially stopped by officers under the Terrorism Act, before being arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life, the police statement said.
Last month, police were called to fires at a house in north London owned by Starmer, another at a property nearby where he used to live, and to a blaze involving a car that also used to belong to him.
Authorities have so far charged three men – two of them Ukrainians and one Romanian national – in connection with the fires. None of them have been charged under terrorism laws or the new National Security Act, which aims to target hostile state activity.
The three men – aged between 21 and 34 – have been remanded in custody and are due to appear at London’s Old Bailey court on June 6, police said on Monday.
Starmer, who has lived at his official 10 Downing Street residence in central London since becoming prime minister last July, has called the incidents “an attack on all of us, on our democracy and the values we stand for”.
Counter-terrorism police have led the investigation given the prime minister’s involvement.
