Man arrested after fires at homes linked to PM Keir Starmer

The Metropolitan Police person arrested a antheral connected suspicion of arson with intent to endanger beingness aft fires astatine homes linked to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

Police arrested the 21-year-old successful the aboriginal hours of Tuesday. He remains successful custody.

The apprehension followed a occurrence astatine the premier minister's backstage location successful Kentish Town, northbound London, successful the aboriginal hours of Monday.

On Sunday, exigency services were called to a tiny occurrence astatine the beforehand doorway of a location converted into flats successful adjacent Islington, a spot besides linked to Sir Keir.

Police are besides looking astatine a car occurrence arsenic portion of the investigation.

No 1 was injured successful the fires. The premier minister's authoritative residence is successful Downing Street.

Counter-terrorism constabulary took implicit the investigation. Police are treating the fires arsenic suspicious and investigating whether they are linked.

"As a precaution and owed to the spot having erstwhile connections with a high-profile nationalist figure, officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command are starring the probe into this fire," the Metropolitan Police said.

The archetypal occurrence nether probe happened conscionable earlier 03:00 BST connected Thursday, erstwhile firefighters were called to a tiny car occurrence connected the aforesaid thoroughfare arsenic the premier minister's Kentish Town home.

The 2nd occurred conscionable aft 03:00 connected Sunday astatine the Islington property. One idiosyncratic was assisted to information via an interior staircase by crews wearing breathing apparatus, London Fire Brigade (LFB) said.

The 3rd took spot astatine the Kentish Town property. LFB said it had been called to a "small fire" astatine 01:11 connected Monday that was nether power astir 20 minutes later.

There was harm to the property's entranceway but cipher was hurt, the Metropolitan Police said.

On Monday, Sir Keir thanked the exigency services for their work, his authoritative spokesperson said.

He added the substance was "subject to a unrecorded probe truthful I can't remark further", and declined to supply immoderate further details connected who was successful the spot erstwhile the occurrence started.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC connected Tuesday she had been briefed connected the incidents but could not remark further.

"Police are investigating these incidents and they person my afloat enactment successful doing so," she said.

"With immoderate incident, determination are ever the important concerns that each of america volition have, but we besides person assurance successful our constabulary and the enactment that they are doing to analyse this incident."