A 21-year-old Ukrainian man has been remanded in custody after appearing in court charged with starting fires at two properties and a car linked to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Roman Lavrynovych is charged with three counts of arson with intent to endanger life following the fires at various locations across north London. He spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address at a short hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

He was arrested at an address in Sydenham, south-east London, in the early hours of Tuesday and charged on Thursday, the Metropolitan Police said. The Ukrainian national appeared before the court on Friday morning accused of setting the Prime Minister’s £2million north London property alight on Monday night. That blaze happened just days after the torching of a car and a flat which the Labour leader had previously owned. The three fires took place between May 8 and 12.

The Ukrainian appeared in the dock wearing a prison grey tracksuit, accompanied by a Ukrainian interpreter, and spoke to confirm his name and address.

Sarah Przybylska, prosecuting, said: “At this stage, the alleged offence is unexplained.”

The defendant is accused of planning the arson attacks for several days, purchasing an “accelerant material” in B&Q on May 6 and 8.

Ms Przybylska said: “The car and both properties were linked to the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.”

Officers from the Met’s Counter Terror Command have led the investigation due to the connections to a high-profile public figure, the force said.

Sir Keir let the four-bedroom house in Kentish Town to his sister-in-law on a peppercorn rent since he moved into Downing Street after his general election victory in July last year.

The blaze there damaged the porch of the property, but firefighters were able to bring it under control within 20 minutes, stopping it from spreading further indoors.

The doors of two homes linked to the Prime Minister in north London both suffered fire damage within 24 hours of each other.

It came after a Toyota Rav 4 on Sir Keir’s street burst into flames on VE Day – with the hybrid car being completely destroyed. The owner of the vehicle later saying he initially thought it was a battery fault.

Bethan David, head of the Crown Prosecution Service counter terrorism division, said: “These charges relate to two fires at residential addresses in Islington on Sunday May 11 and in Kentish Town on Monday May 12, as well as a car fire in Kentish Town on Thursday May 8.

“The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against this defendant are now active and that he has the right to a fair trial.”

In the early hours of Monday, the emergency services responded to a fire at the Kentish Town home where Sir Keir Starmer lived before becoming Prime Minister and moving into 10 Downing Street.

Police were alerted by the London Fire Brigade (LFB) to reports of a fire at the residential address at 1.35am.

Damage was caused to the property’s entrance, but nobody was hurt.

A car linked to Sir Keir was set alight in the early hours of Thursday May 8 in the same street.

In the early hours of Sunday, firefighters dealt with a small fire at the front door of a house converted into flats in nearby Islington, which is also linked to the Prime Minister.

One person was assisted to safety via an internal staircase by crews wearing breathing apparatus, London Fire Brigade added.