Two men were sentenced to prison on 19 June 2026 for setting fires at properties and a vehicle belonging to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, according to the Metropolitan Police.

The attacks happened in May 2025. Fires were set at three properties connected to Starmer, and a vehicle linked to him was set on fire on 8 May 2025. A jury found both men guilty of planning and carrying out these arson attacks on 15 June 2026, and they were sentenced on 19 June.

The fact that the Metropolitan Police — the force that handles security for senior government officials — took charge of this case from the beginning shows it was treated as a serious security threat, not just ordinary vandalism.

Investigators looked at whether a foreign government might have been involved. AP News reported on 16 June 2026 that the attacks were examined for possible links to Russian intelligence. If that connection exists, these fires would be part of a larger pattern of Russian operations against Western leaders. Another AP report from 19 June 2026 continued exploring this possibility.

Here is what matters about the verdict: the court proved that these two men planned and carried out the fires together. But the court did not prove whether a foreign country directed them to do it. That is a separate question being investigated by intelligence agencies — not something a criminal trial decides. Think of it like proving someone committed a theft; that is different from proving someone else ordered them to steal.

The timing matters for politics and security. Starmer has been one of Europe's strongest voices supporting Ukraine against Russia. Because of his stance, Western security agencies already watch him as someone Russia might target. Attacks on a Prime Minister's own home are treated far more seriously than attacks on a government building or a symbol.

There is a pattern here worth understanding. Instead of planning big, shocking attacks, hostile actors — whether they work for a state or not — are increasingly targeting individual leaders to frighten and disrupt them. Burning someone's house costs less to carry out and is harder to trace back than a bombing would be. Security experts link this kind of "low-level harassment" to Russian military intelligence operations that have happened across Europe over the last three years — activities that operate in the grey area between ordinary crime and open conflict.

The sentences mark the end of the criminal case for now. But if investigators find solid proof of foreign involvement, there could be more charges under national security laws — possibly against others involved, or under different laws like the National Security Act 2023.