Overview

• The court was shown messages from a Wagner Group contact known as Privet Bot directing Earl to watch the Cold War drama as a ‘manual’ for organising sabotage cells
• Dylan Earl, 20, has pleaded guilty alongside Jake Reeves to aggravated arson of the Leyton warehouse and an offence under the National Security Act
• The March 2024 blaze caused over £1 million in damage to Starlink satellite kits and humanitarian supplies bound for Ukraine
• Evidence revealed plans to attack Mayfair businesses and kidnap a Russian dissident to hand him over to Russian authorities
• Prosecutors warn the case highlights how the Russian-backed Wagner Group has used British nationals as proxies, posing a serious threat to UK security