Campaigners have called on the government to open a public inquiry into Russian interference in British politics after a Russian-speaking mastermind paid two men to set fire to homes and a car linked to Sir Keir Starmer.
Roman Lavrynovych, 22 from Ukraine, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27 from Romania, were found guilty on Monday at the Old Bailey more than a year after a Toyota Rav4, once owned by the prime minister, was set alight in a street in Kentish Town. Days later, two houses linked to the prime minister, one occupied by his sister-in-law and her family, were set ablaze.
The two men were found to have been stooges for a Russian-speaking taskmaster known as El Money. They recruited the men via the Telegram channel Direct Action to commit the crimes, which Russian operatives hoped would cause division in the UK, according to a BBC investigation.
The BBC, supported by research from Hope Not Hate, claimed El Money has links to the highest levels of power in Moscow, but Counter Terrorism Policing has said there is no evidence to suggest they are a “state threat”.
Hope Not Hate has since put out an open letter to the prime minister urging him to open an inquiry that delves into the full extent of Russian interference in the UK following this “grave national security threat”.
“The Direct Action plot is just the latest in a long series of attempts by Russia to interfere in Britain, divide communities and incite trouble,” the letter read.
“From the EU referendum campaign to amplifying anti-Muslim rhetoric during the 2017 terrorist attacks, bribing UKIP and Reform officials to inflaming community tensions during the 2024 riots, Russian activities in British politics needs to be thoroughly investigated in order to prevent them from happening again.
“This is not a conspiracy theory. It is real. And it demands urgent action.”
The Rycroft Review, commissioned to look into the risks of foreign financial influence on democracy in December, found in March that the UK faced a “persistent problem of foreign interests seeking to exert influence on, and to interfere in” domestic politics.
“Too much of this is malign and seeks to sow distrust and exacerbate divisions in UK society, with the ultimate aim of undermining confidence in our democracy,” it said.
Hope Not Hate claimed that while the review was welcome, its scope needed to be broader than finance. The campaigners also alleged that the Intelligence and Security Committee’s 2020 Russia Report was limited in scope and the recommendations were largely ignored.
“This goes far deeper than money. It is about who Russia recruited, who they paid, who they directed, how far this operation reached into Britain, and how we stop it happening again,” the letter concluded.
A government spokesperson said: “Russia’s hostile activity puts our national security at risk, which we have taken concerted action to disrupt and deter – increasing defence spending, sanctioning the GRU, targeting illicit finance streams, and disrupting their networks.
“We will continue to support our world leading police and intelligence agencies, using the tools and powers they have to detect and disrupt hostile activity carried out by Russia or any other foreign state.”
