A mysterious Russian-speaking contact known as “El Money” offered payment to three men to set fire to a car and two houses linked to Sir Keir Starmer , a court heard.

Ukrainians Roman Lavrynovych, 22, Petro Pochynok, 35, and Romanian Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, are charged over a series of fires in north London last spring.

Opening their Old Bailey trial on Wednesday, prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC said: “Three fires in the same area within five days would be pretty unusual.

“However, three fires all involving property linked to the same person were beyond a coincidence.

“The Rav4 car had once belonged to the Prime Minister , Sir Keir Starmer .

“The house in Ellington Road was managed by a company of which the Prime Minister had once been director and shareholder, and the house in Countess Road still belonged to the Prime Minister , and was occupied by his sister-in-law.

“The evidence demonstrated that there was here, no coincidence.

“Rather, the vehicle and the two properties in question had been targeted,…