Two charged with arson over fire at London MP Mike Freer’s constituency office

A man and a woman have been charged with arson over a fire in a shed at Conservative MP Mike Freer’s north London constituency office, the Metropolitan Police said.

Paul Harwood, 42, and Zara Kasory, 32, both of no fixed address, were arrested on Wednesday. They were each charged with one count of arson with intent and appeared at Willesden Magistrates’ Court on Thursday morning.

The pair were remanded in custody to appear at Harrow Crown Court on February 1.

Police were called to the office in Ballards Lane, north Finchley, shortly after 7pm on Christmas Eve.

Mr Freer had previously suggested the incident may have been related to his “views on the Middle East” but the force said it was not being treated as a hate crime.

Following the incident, he told Sky News: “When something flares in the Middle East, the level of attacks in my local area do go up, so sadly it could be to do with my views on the Middle East.”

The pair have also been charged with one count of arson with intent over a fire at a restaurant in Long Lane, Finchley, at 11pm on the same night.

There were no reported injuries at either incident.

Mr Freer said he was grateful to police, but said he could not comment on any possible motives until the case was heard in court.

The Conservative MP had previously told the PA news agency that the rear of the building was damaged by the fire.

He said the response from police and the fire brigade was “excellent” and that they were “on site in minutes”.

Mr Freer has represented the constituency since 2010 and is parliamentary under-secretary at the Ministry of Justice.

Last year, Mr Freer told the Old Bailey he and his staff decided to wear stab vests and carry panic alarms after learning that Ali Harbi Ali, who went on to kill Southend West MP Sir David Amess, had first scoped out his Finchley office.