Neo-Nazi fanatic Harry Whittake jailed over explosives in garden shed.

A neo-Nazi fanatic who made explosives in his garden shed as he contemplated turning Muslims into “mincemeat” has been jailed for three years and nine months.

Harry Whittaker, 33, manufactured a homemade bomb and stored chemicals in a makeshift laboratory in the garden of the home he shared with his mother in the Bedfordshire village of Caddington, near Luton.

Police uncovered his stash of explosives after Whittaker suffered a life-threatening allergic reaction and called 999 for medical help on 18 April 2024.

Following his arrest, police uncovered a stream of racist chat on WhatsApp in which Whittaker directed hate towards a mosque in Luton.

In one message, he wrote: “We need a tank covered in machine guns and flame throwers, drive it into that mosque on Friday afternoon and turn them into mincemeat.”

Following an Old Bailey trial, Whittaker was found guilty of two charges of possession of explosive substances and two charges of making them on or before 6 May 2024.

Whittaker had admitted a charge under the Poisons Act and having ammunition without a licence.

He had had described himself as a “nerdy” science geek who had a life-threatening allergic reaction to one of his own experiments.

But at his sentencing on Wednesday, prosecutor Emily Dummett set out further evidence of his racist views and interest in neo-Nazi ideology.

He had a picture of Adolf Hitler, a flag associated with Nazi Germany, swastikas and antisemitic notes in his bedroom.

Whittaker downloaded extreme right-wing material and had expressed a desire for Tommy Robinson to lead a “civil war” and “kick out” people of Asian heritage in a message to his brother in 2022.

In another message, he wrote about putting ricin poison into the water supply at Bury Park, near Luton.

He had continued to express extreme beliefs and failed to recognise that what he had done was wrong since his conviction, Ms Dummett said.

Mitigating, Polly Dyer maintained Whittaker had the explosives for “scientific interest and endeavour”.

She said: “They were low-level explosives. He had the majority of the items for years without seeking to use them intending to harm others and the property of others.

“There are of course items and messages put before the court that on any view are racist and offensive but there is no correlation between the items he was convicted on and other evidence referenced by the Crown.

“His experimentation was not motivated by any racial hostility to certain groups of individuals.”

She accepted he had “abhorrent” views and an interest in Nazism but insisted he did not pose a “significant risk”.

Whittaker’s plans came to light when paramedics went to the defendant’s home after being alerted to a possible anaphylactic shock.

Whittaker told them that he had been conducting experiments with chemicals in his laboratory and showed them his shed.

He said a window had broken on the shed after an experiment resulted in an explosion, the court was told.

Sentencing, Judge Simon Mayo KC told Whittaker: “I am sure your conduct in making and possessing explosives gave rise to risk of harm to others.

“While I cannot be sure you had formed any separate intent to use the explosives or chemicals for a violent purpose you spoke about it and to a certain extent contemplated it.”

The judge said Whittaker was “highly intelligent” and his responsibility was not diminished by his mental health issues or autism spectrum disorder.

Speaking after sentencing, Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “By making improvised explosive devices and collecting such a toxic array of chemicals his shed, Whittaker’s actions were incredibly reckless and put his whole neighbourhood at risk.”

Neo-Nazi fanatic Harry Whittake jailed over explosives in garden shed | ITV News Anglia