A man has admitted setting fire to a Tory MP’s shed but denied it was politically motivated.

Paul Harwood, 42, has been charged with setting a fire at Mike Freer’s constituency office in Finchley, north London, on Christmas Eve. He was also charged with another arson attack on a bin behind a property that same night.

He appeared at the Old Bailey via video link on Tuesday and admitted two charges of arson.

Allegations related to the councilman state that on December 24, 2023, he “burned down a shed… belonging to Mike Freer.” Harwood’s lawyer Tim Williams said the crimes “were not in any way politically motivated or targeted”.

A second defendant, Zara Kasory, 32, denies the same charge and will stand trial at Harrow Crown Court on July 1. Judge John Lodge scheduled a further hearing for March 12 and remanded the defendant in custody.

Freer, 63, was appointed Parliamentary Deputy Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice on September 20, 2022. He served as Minister for Exports and Minister for Equality from September 2021 to 6 July 2022.

In May 2010, he was first elected as MP for Finchley and Golders Green.