Harry Whittaker was not just a ‘science nerd’. He was a threat to Muslim and Jewish communities.

A DIY bombmaker guilty of various offences linked to explosive and poisonous substances harboured disturbingly violent anti-Muslim and antisemitic views and far-right sympathies, according to the police, following his conviction.

Harry Whittaker, 33, from Coddington near Luton, attempted to obscure his crimes and extremist views under a cloak of respectability, being a “nerdy kid” with a fondness for science and harboured no racist views, when the police interviewed him.

The prosecution detailed how Whittaker made various racist statements over WhatsApp messages, revealing his disturbing desire to murder Muslims who prayed at a local mosque in Luton with a tank equipped with machine guns and flamethrowers, desiring to turn Muslims into “mincemeat”. The full quote read: “We need a tank covered in machine guns and flame throwers, drive it into that mosque on Friday afternoon and turn them into mincemeat.”

Officers unearthed burned-out remains of a device labelled “for use on Jews only” and “throw at swarm of Jews” and a container labelled “Zyklon-B”, used in the gas chambers of the Nazi extermination camps, including Auschwitz. He kept a sample of the deadly poison potassium cyanide in that jar because it made him ‘happy’, it emerged during the trial.

The Telegraph reported that officers found a handwritten note from Whittaker that included racist, homophobic and discriminatory statements like “worship Hitler”, “avoid gays”, and “discriminate against other people of other religions and race”.

He admitted in court that his statements about Muslims were indeed racist, but he insisted that he would only use racist language at home.

Bedfordshire police confirmed that Whittaker had “labelled some of the chemicals using antisemitic or Islamophobic language or references.”

The police added that despite his “interest in some extreme right-wing ideologies”, they found ‘no evidence’ of plans to use the devices or chemicals to target others.

Following the guilty verdicts, various newspaper headlines included “‘Nerdy’ man guilty of making explosives in his shed”, “Self-styled ‘science nerd’ convicted after homemade explosives found in garden shed” and “‘Nerdy’ science buff convicted of making explosives in garden shed”.

The Telegraph’s headline was “‘Mad scientist’ suggested driving tank into mosque” and in the sub-heading, identified him as a “Hitler fan”.

It does raise questions as to why various headlines focused on his self-identified “nerdy” identity, not his racist, dangerous worldview. Whilst he did not target any groups directly, he still posed a threat to Muslim and Jewish communities, given what he stockpiled and sought to build and what dangerous views he openly espoused.

The explosive substances recovered from Whittaker’s bedroom and shed include black powder, a blank and a live round of ammunition, chemicals, lethal poisons and suspected improvised explosive devices.

Police unearthed radioactive materials and white phosphorus – a substance so dangerous that it required a military intervention to destroy it safely. It took two weeks for the crime scene to clear.

Whittaker came to the attention of the police after paramedics attended his home address (which he shares with his mother) after receiving a report about him going into anaphylactic shock, before disclosing his use of chemicals (some deadly) in his makeshift laboratory in the garden shed.

It emerged during the trial that Whittaker had collected various chemicals for twenty-six years, and when questioned, maintained that all purchases from websites like eBay, including buying sulphuric acid aged twelve, were made without any age checks. Other chemicals he procured from an engineering company where he worked and from a chemistry set a relative had given them.

Whittaker sought to downplay his extremist, racist views as a product of his autism and a lack of a “filter”.

A jury found Whittaker guilty of three counts of making an explosive substance (a section 4(1) offence under the Explosive Substances Act 1883) and of one count of possessing an explosive substance (a section 4(1) offence under the Explosive Substances Act 1883).

Whittaker will appear in court for sentencing on 9 January and was remanded into custody.

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Categories: Bedfordshire Police, explosives, Hitler, Luton, News