A gang who firebombed Sir Keir Starmer's home in a suspected Russian plot were jailed for a total of nine years today.

Two Ukrainian men were hired as 'pawns' by a mystery Russian figure to target the Prime Minister setting fire to his family home, his former car and another property he was linked to in a plot which has since been linked to a Russian diplomat.

Lured by the promise of making £3,000 in 'easy money', Roman Lavrynovych, 21 and Stanislav Carpiuc, 26, set fire to Sir Keir's constituency home where his sister-in-law was staying and a flat in Islington which he had previously been linked to in the early hours of May 11 and May 12.

During the Old Bailey trial, police never named the Russian figure known to Lavrynovych only as 'El Money', who issued instructions via the encrypted Telegram app for the attacks carried out between May 8 and May 12 last year.

In a plot which security experts say bears all the hallmarks of Russia's military intelligence, El Money acted as a remote puppeteer recruiting Lavrynovych who shopped in B&Q for white spirits, making crude incendiary devices before carrying out a series of attacks under the cover of darkness.

Yesterday Mr Justice Garnham described how Lavrynovych was 'easily bought' and agreed to play a 'leading role' having already undertaken 'grubby tasks' for El Money.

Jailing Lavrynovych for seven years, the judge said he was 'utterly reckless' and didn't care about the lives of the property occupants he endangered.

Describing him as a 'pawn for some unknown cause', the judge added that was a 'fool that can be manipulated, used by El Money to advance some agenda or cause.'

Following their conviction on Monday, a BBC investigation linked the El Money Telegram account to the son of a senior Russian official who glorified President Vladimir Putin.

It was alleged that the plot mastermind is 23-year-old Evgeny Lyukshin, a diplomat schooled in propaganda warfare by some of Russia's top spies and Putin allies.

His father is believed to be a senior Russian diplomat, who previously served as counsellor at the embassy in Denmark and has access to sensitive Nato and CIA documents

Mr Lyukshin, who has not commented on the allegations, has been pictured with the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko and he appears on social media showing off his pass for a Russian embassy.

Lavrynovych, who lives his grandmother in London, was originally recruited by El Money to put up posters around London whipping up anti-immigration sentiment.

Carpiuc, who had posted on a modelling website that he wanted to be the 'top male model in the world', was also offered cash to assist.

El Money offered £2,000 in cryptocurrency to set fire to a Toyota RAV4 owned by the Prime Minister which he had sold to a neighbour.

Following the car blaze on 8 May, Lavrynovych, set alight the front door of a property in Islington which Sir Keir had previously been linked to and he also firebombed his constituency home in Kentish Town, north London.

No one was hurt in the blaze but the Prime Minister's sister-in-law, Judith Alexander, feared for her life and that of her family .

Only after the final attack, did El Money warn the arsonists they had attacked the home of 'a very high-ranking person in Britain'.

Lavrynovych sent a series of increasingly desperate messages to El Money seeking payment, which never came through.

Police swooped 24 hours later finding the phone he had used and trainers he had worn in the attack.

Officers recovered messages from the pair's phones, but many of the messages had been deleted.

Today Lavrynovych was jailed for seven years after being convicted of two counts of damaging property by being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

Carpiuc, was jailed for two years for conspiring along with others to damage property by fire.

James Scobie, KC, defending Lavrynovych said: 'He gained absolutely nothing from this. He was used on any view – utterly naive, utterly gullible, unthinking and a complete and utter foot soldier.

'How worrying that is for us all that there are individuals like this who are fodder for this type of infiltration who has not got a clue who the 'big man' was – turns who to be the Prime Minister.

'He is what he is – a boy, and a very immature boy at that.'

Shahid Rashid, representing Carpiuc, argued: 'His motivation was helping a friend out who needed money desperately for his father's medical treatment.'

Commander Helen Flanagan, head of counter terror policing in London, said: 'The prison sentences in this case reflect the incredibly reckless actions of the two men involved.

'I would like to praise the swift work of the investigation team who identified the men involved within a few days of the fires. This was essential in ensuring that vital forensic and digital evidence was seized before it could be destroyed.

'One of the men – Carpiuc – was arrested at an airport, demonstrating how close he came to fleeing the country and escaping justice.

'Crimes, such as arson, being directed by anonymous online accounts promising payment, is a recurring trend in our casework.

'Our message to anyone who might be approached in this way, or thinking about doing similar, is to think again. As we've seen here, you will not get paid as you are promised, you will be identified and brought to justice, and the only thing you will be left with is facing the prospect of a lengthy jail sentence.'