Three men guilty of arson attack ordered by Wagner Group on Ukraine-linked warehouse in London

Around £1m of damage was caused by the blaze at an industrial unit in Leyton, east London, that was supplying StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine, a court heard.

Nii Kojo Mensah, 23, Jakeem Rose, 23, and Ugnius Asmena, 20, denied a charge of aggravated arson but were convicted by a jury at the Old Bailey.

Paul English, 61, was cleared of the same charge.

The attack on 20 March last year was orchestrated by 20-year-old Dylan Earl - who was recruited by the Wagner Group - and Jake Reeves, 23, the trial previously heard.

Reeves, of Croydon, pleaded guilty to agreeing to accept a material benefit from a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act 2023.

Earl, of Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire, pleaded guilty to aggravated arson and preparatory conduct under the National Security Act 2023.

It was alleged they recruited a group of men to carry out the attack as part of a series of planned missions for the terrorist group.

The court was previously told the pair had gone on to plot more arson attacks on a restaurant and wine shop in Mayfair and the kidnap of their multi-millionaire owner, who was a Russian dissident.

The case is the first concerning allegations under the UK's new counter-espionage laws.

Prosecutor Duncan Penny said Earl was "knowingly acting at the behest of the Wagner Group", banned as a terrorist organisation, and "knew he was acting against Ukrainian, and for Russian interests".

Ashton Evans, 20, was found guilty of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts relating to the Mayfair plot but cleared of failing to tell authorities about the warehouse arson.

Dmirjus Paulauskas, 23, was cleared of two similar offences relating to both terrorist plots after the jury deliberated for nearly 22 hours.

-SKY NEWS