6 months ago
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Image source, London Fire Brigade
The national security investigation started after a suspected arson attack at a London warehouse
By Daniel Sandford
BBC News home affairs correspondent
Two British men have been charged with helping Russian intelligence after a suspected arson attack on a Ukraine-linked business.
Dylan Earl, 20, from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire, and Jake Reeves, 22, from Croydon, were investigated following a fire at a warehouse in east London in March.
They are the first people charged under the new National Security Act 2023.
Three other suspects linked to the fire have been held on other charges.
The investigation is being led by Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism officers.
Mr Earl appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court last week, but for legal reasons BBC News has not been able to report that until today.
He also faced a charge of aggravated arson when he appeared in court on Saturday.
Dmitrijus Paulauska, 22, was charged with failing to disclose information to police about terrorist acts, an offence under the Terrorism Act, 2000. He appeared in court on Friday.
Two other men have been charged with one count of aggravated arson each but are not suspected of any national security offence.
Nii Mensah, 21, from Thornton Heath in South London, and Paul English, 60, from Roehampton in South West London, appeared in court on Monday.
All five are due to appear in court at the Old Bailey on the 10 May.
Image source, Facebook
Image caption,Paul English - who is not charged with a national security offence - is accused of aggravated arson
The investigation is related to a fire which broke out on an industrial estate on Staffa Road in Leyton in March 2024, which the prosecution said was started using an accelerant such as petrol.
Eight fire engines and 60 firefighters were called out to the blaze.
The charges do not specify who owns the businesses that were targeted - but Companies House records show they are two parcel delivery services: Oddisey and Meest UK.
They are owned by Mykhaylo Prykhodko, also known as Mikhail Boikov, and his wife Jelena Boikova, who both live in London.
Nick Price, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said Mr Earl is "alleged to have engaged in conduct targeting businesses which were linked to Ukraine in order to benefit the Russian state".
He continued: "Included in the alleged activity was involvement in the planning of an arson attack on a Ukrainian-linked commercial property in March 2024."
Mr Earl and Mr Reeves are the first people to be charged under a new law designed to update and modernise the offences of espionage, sabotage and foreign interference.
At the time it was passed, the government said it was designed to strengthen the UK's defences against hostile activity by states "targeting the UK's democracy, economy, and values."
The full charges Mr Earl faces are:
- Preparing an act that endangered the life of a person or created a serious risk to the safety of the public contrary to Section 18 of the National Security Act 2023
- Assisting a foreign intelligence service contrary to Section 3 of the National Security Act 2023
- Aggravated arson
The full charges Mr Reeves faces are:
- Obtaining a material benefit from a foreign intelligence service, contrary to section 17 of the National Security Act, 2023
- Aggravated arson
