Two 15-year-old boys from Tyneside bought bomb-making materials on the internet and discussed blowing up the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, a local school and Eldon Square, a court has heard.
The boys started amassing chemicals, pipes and fuses to make devices based on a recipe in the bomb-making manual The Anarchist Cookbook.
Police were alerted to their plans after a family member found powders which turned out to be paracetamol, caffeine and sucrose – substances commonly used to dilute drugs – in one of the boys’ bedrooms. The teenagers were later found to be in possession of materials which could have been used for viable explosive devices.
The boys also had conversations on Skype about going on a drug-fuelled rampage, killing families in their homes, making a beheading video, and spending their final days as wanted men. They made references to the murdered solider Lee Rigby, as well as to Raoul Moat, who shot dead three people in 2010.
One of the boys’ mobile phones was found to contain messages, chat and links relating to making explosives, molotov cocktails, bottle bombs, nail bombs, acetone peroxide, the uses of chlorine and the Taliban. Other material showed references to a hatred of Jews and black people.
One of the boys also discussed Newcastle shopping centre Eldon Square as “somewhere he could go out with a bang”.
Nick Dry, prosecuting, said one of the defendants had been confronted by his parents last year after they became concerned about him. He said: “They had noticed a change in him over the past year or so when he had started to show them photographs of drugs, money and weapons, tell sick jokes about 9/11 and, latterly, tell them that he was making a bomb.
“In fact, Skype communications between the defendants in October and November last year confirms they were doing just that. The conversation reveals that they were looking to sell drugs in order to fund the purchase of materials to make pipe bombs and a firearm. Potential targets discussed included a local public school, the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace and a random shopping centre.
“Escape plans were discussed along with potential suicide, both defendants stating that it was what they had wanted for a long time and agreeing to source the constituent parts of pipe bombs.”
Dry said the materials arrived at the home of one of the boys, who told his parents they were for a school project. But after being confronted by them, he admitted it was to make “flash powder” and that he intended to blow himself up on the school field.
“He reported his father’s seizure of the fuses to [the other boy], then they discussed using bottles, nails and flamethrowers as alternatives and considered addressing packages of items purchased on the internet to neighbours to avoid interception by their parents,” Dry said.
“[One boy] was keen that he end his own life, suicide his priority although happy to go along with [the other boy’s] desire to kill others with a view to being remembered. Orders were then placed for various chemicals with a view to making explosives, addressed to a neighbour.”
The defendants, now 16 and appearing at Newcastle crown court, admitted to conspiracy to make an explosive substance for unlawful purpose. They were sentenced to 12 months in youth custody
Judge John Milford, QC, said: “Police discovered contacts between you in discussion about targeting a number of different establishments, locally and nationally, with bombs.
“In the event, because of the intervention of your parents and police, no explosives were created and no bombs were made. But the potential of such items in the hands of disturbed teenagers, which you both undoubtedly were at this time, is frightening.”
Geoff Knowles, defending the boy whose parents found the materials, said he had a mental health condition and was a “lonely young man who was clearly isolated from his peers” and was vulnerable.
He added: “There was no physical attempt to create any device and flash powder is not lethal. It’s clear he was struggling with a number of issues in his personal life at this time.”
Shaun Routledge, for the other boy, said: “Thanks to the actions of their parents, this offending was stopped in its tracks. Since they were sending ridiculous Skype messages and talking nonsense, they have calmed down and are looking to the future.”
