Why British PM’s former and current homes are part of arson investigation

The suspicious blaze at a property in Islington was reported on Sunday and a car was set on fire near to the Prime Minister’s Tufnell Park home last Thursday, May 8.

Starmer bought the Islington maisonette in 1991 with his then girlfriend, who he had met at university. He moved out in 1997, selling the property for £170,000.

A Downing Street spokesman said: “The Prime Minister thanks the emergency services for their work. The incident is subject to a live investigation and we won’t be commenting further.”

London Fire Brigade said it was called just after 1.30am (local time) on Monday to reports of a blaze at the entrance of a three-storey terraced property in the Tufnell Park area.

Two fire engines responded and extinguished the blaze while a large number of police also attended the incident.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Officers attended the scene. Damage was caused to the property’s entrance. Nobody was hurt.

“As a precaution and due to the property having previous connections with a high-profile public figure, officers from the Met’s Counter-Terrorism Command are leading the investigation into this fire. Inquiries are ongoing to establish what caused it.”

The spokesman added that police were investigating whether the three blazes were linked.

“All three fires are being treated as suspicious at this time, and inquiries remain ongoing,” the spokesman said.

Woken by bang

Neighbours in the quiet tree-lined street described how they were woken by a loud bang before a number of police arrived.

Charles Grant, 66, who lives in the street, said: “Police searched my garden and said they were looking for something somebody had thrown but they didn’t find anything. They said they were looking for a projectile.

“From what other people have told me today I gather someone threw a firebomb at Keir Starmer’s house.”

He said: “I heard a loud noise at around midnight. I was half asleep. It was some sort of bang. I went back to sleep. I don’t think the damage was too extensive as the house is still standing.

“The front door and the brickwork on either side is black and charred but the door is still standing. It smells of burnt stuff.

“The police said the damage is not extensive – just needs a bit of paintwork.”

Another resident, who asked not to be named, said: “I got woken by a loud noise in the early hours of the morning. I looked out of the window and saw flashing lights and heard police sirens.

“There’s been lots of forensics outside all day. It seems like they’re taking it very seriously.”

Dave Russell, 65, a Tufnell Park neighbour, said: “We just saw the fire engine outside. About 1.30am the police knocked on the door and asked if we saw anything. And that’s when we found out that someone tried to set his house on fire.”

On the previous fire on May 8, he said: “The car was obviously set alight at 3am. We were all looking at the car set ablaze.

“We thought the car was an accident because it was one of those hybrids but now they think it’s connected. It was really bad, it started banging and everything. We thought it was going to explode. The car was completely gutted.”

Previous protests

Last year, prior to the General Election, the Prime Minister’s home became the target of pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

One group hung a banner outside the property that read “Starmer stop killing” surrounded by red handprints.

Protesters from Youth Demand also placed four rows of children’s shoes in front of the property to represent those killed in Gaza.

Lady Starmer, who is of Jewish heritage, said she felt “a bit sick” when she returned home to see the demonstration.

Monday’s fire broke out just hours before the Prime Minister unveiled plans to clamp down on immigration.

Starmer and his wife bought the three-storey, four-bedroom terraced property in 2004 for £650,000 and lived there until after the General Election last July when the family moved to Downing Street.

According to the Prime Minister’s entry in the register of ministerial and financial interests, the couple rent out the house.