Explosives suspect: I was just doing chemistry

Harry Whittaker denies two allegations of making explosive substances, and four of possessing explosive substances

A 33-year-old man accused of making explosive substances in his garden shed has told jurors he was "just doing chemistry".

Paramedics were called to Harry Whittaker's home in Caddington near Luton after he went into anaphylactic shock in April 2024.

Mr Whittaker denies two allegations of making explosive substances, and four of possessing explosive substances, at his trial at the Old Bailey in London.

"I'm just doing chemistry," he told the jury. "Obviously I'm not trying to take over the world."

Mr Whittaker said he was a fan of the cartoon series Dexter's Laboratory when he was younger; in which a child-genius keeps a secret science lab in his bedroom.

During the defendant's evidence, jurors were shown a still image of the TV character.

'Opioid use'

The court heard Mr Whittaker, who admitted using heroin, took methadone and had been conducting experiments in two sheds in his mother's garden in Hyde Road.

Paramedics were called when Mr Whittaker, who is autistic, suffered an allergic reaction and went into anaphylactic shock, prosecutors have said.

Police were informed and disposal experts later carried out controlled explosions on white phosphorous - a mixture used in incendiary devices.

Giving evidence, Mr Whittaker said he had been interested in science from the age of six and developed interests in chemistry, nuclear physics, medicine, pharmacology and astronomy.

He said his parents separated when he was a baby and his father, who had problems with drugs, lived in Wales.

After that, he had only seen his father two or three times a year, including at Christmas.

"I have always struggled with my opioid use. My dad started giving me heroin when I was 15."

Mr Whittaker also told the court he had ADHD and had been diagnosed with Asperger's.

Mr Whittaker was detained in 2024 after paramedics were called to the house in Hyde Road, that he shared with his mother

With his mum, Susanne, he said they had put together what he called "my purpose-built laboratory".

"It's not fully set up," he told the jury.

"I was going to install a fume hood for safety."

He had been collecting chemicals for about 26 years, including radioactive elements and would produce "pyrotechnics" for fireworks night and New Year's Eve.

When asked by his defence lawyer, Polly Dyer, if he had used the dark web to get illegal chemicals, he denied this and said he had been able to get chemicals including sulphuric acid from eBay when he was 12, and no age checks had been made.

Other chemicals were acquired from a chemistry set donated by one of his relatives and some from an engineering company where he worked for several years, he said.

The trial continues.