A 20-year-old British man has been charged with masterminding an arson plot against a Ukrainian-linked target in London for Russia and Moscow’s ambassador was summoned by the government, authorities said on Friday.
“Included in the alleged activity was involvement in the planning of an arson attack on a Ukrainian-linked commercial property in March 2024,” the British Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said in a statement.
The government said it summoned the Russian ambassador to the UK Andrey Kelin “following allegations of Russian orchestrated malign activity on UK soil.”
Photo: Elizabeth Cook / PA via AP
Kelin dismissed the claims of a link to Russia as “absurd” and “unfounded” in a statement sent to Russian state news agency TASS.
Court documents allege that Dylan Earl, from Leicestershire, England, was connected to Russia’s Wagner Group, which the UK has put on its list of “terrorist” groups, the Press Association news agency reported.
He is accused of organizing and paying for an arson attack on two units at an industrial estate in Leyton, east London, on March 20, which required 60 firefighters to bring under control.
The alleged target is referred to as “Mr X” in the charges.
The CPS, which brings prosecutions in England and Wales, said two other men — Paul English, 60, and Nii Mensah, 21 — had also been charged with aggravated arson in connection with the case.
Two other suspects were named.
Jake Reeves, 22, was charged with agreeing to accept a material benefit from a foreign intelligence service, as well as aggravated arson, while Dmitrijus Paulauska, 22, has been charged with having information about terrorist acts, the CPS said.
“While we must let the judicial process run its course, I am deeply concerned by allegations of British nationals carrying out criminal activity on UK soil to benefit the Russian state,” British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Cameron wrote on X. “We will use the full weight of the criminal justice system to hold anyone found guilty of crimes linked to foreign interference to account.”
The British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office demanded “an immediate cessation of this activity,” adding that it would “continue to work with our allies to deter and defend against the full spectrum of threats that emanate from Russia.”
In Berlin, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that “unacceptable” Russian-backed plots would not deter the alliance from supporting Ukraine.
Investigators last week arrested two German-Russian men on suspicion of spying for Russia and planning attacks in Germany, including on US army targets, to undermine military support for Ukraine.
Russian officials rejected the claims.
Dominic Murphy, head of London’s Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, which is leading the investigation, said: “This is a highly significant moment and investigation for us.”
“Not only are the charges that have been authorized by the CPS extremely serious, but it is also the first time that we have arrested, and now charged anyone using the powers and legislation brought in under the National Security Act.”
The National Security Act 2023 was designed to respond to “the threat of hostile activity from states targeting the UK’s democracy, economy, and values,” the government said.
All five suspects are to appear at the Central Criminal Court in London on May 10.
PARLIAMENT CHAOS: Police forcibly removed Brazilian Deputy Glauber Braga after he called the legislation part of a ‘coup offensive’ and occupied the speaker’s chair Brazil’s lower house of Congress early yesterday approved a bill that could slash former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s prison sentence for plotting a coup, after efforts by a lawmaker to disrupt the proceedings sparked chaos in parliament. Bolsonaro has been serving a 27-year term since last month after his conviction for a scheme to stop Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after the 2022 election. Lawmakers had been discussing a bill that would significantly reduce sentences for several crimes, including attempting a coup d’etat — opening up the prospect that Bolsonaro, 70, could have his sentence cut to
China yesterday held a low-key memorial ceremony for the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) not attending, despite a diplomatic crisis between Beijing and Tokyo over Taiwan. Beijing has raged at Tokyo since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last month said that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Japan. China and Japan have long sparred over their painful history. China consistently reminds its people of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, in which it says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then its capital. A post-World War II Allied tribunal put the death toll
A passerby could hear the cacophony from miles away in the Argentine capital, the unmistakable sound of 2,397 dogs barking — and breaking the unofficial world record for the largest-ever gathering of golden retrievers. Excitement pulsed through Bosques de Palermo, a sprawling park in Buenos Aires, as golden retriever-owners from all over Argentina transformed the park’s grassy expanse into a sea of bright yellow fur. Dog owners of all ages, their clothes covered in dog hair and stained with slobber, plopped down on picnic blankets with their beloved goldens to take in the surreal sight of so many other, exceptionally similar-looking ones.
‘UNWAVERING ALLIANCE’: The US Department of State said that China’s actions during military drills with Russia were not conducive to regional peace and stability The US on Tuesday criticized China over alleged radar deployments against Japanese military aircraft during a training exercise last week, while Tokyo and Seoul yesterday scrambled jets after Chinese and Russian military aircraft conducted joint patrols near the two countries. The incidents came after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi triggered a dispute with Beijing last month with her remarks on how Tokyo might react to a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan. “China’s actions are not conducive to regional peace and stability,” a US Department of State spokesperson said late on Tuesday, referring to the radar incident. “The US-Japan alliance is stronger and more
RSS