Soldier Ryan McGee jailed for making nail bomb

A young British Army soldier who was obsessed with far-right politics has been jailed for two years for making a viable nail bomb packed with deadly shrapnel in his bedroom.

Rifleman Ryan McGee's home-made device contained 181 metal screws and bits of glass that were designed to maximise injuries when it exploded.

Police found the bomb after they raided his three-bedroom family home in Eccles, near Manchester, on an unrelated matter last November while the 20-year-old was stationed in Germany.

The court heard McGee was interested in the English Defence League, but was not a member and had watched a horrific video of men being bound and executed under a swastika flag.

The soldier from 5th Battalion, The Rifles, had previously admitted buying the Anarchist Cookbook and making the nail bomb. He is now expected to be discharged from the Army.

McGee was detained at an Army base in Paderborn, Germany, late last year, after the discovery.

Jailing him at the Old Bailey, Recorder of London Brian Barker said: "The fact of the matter is any explosive device in the wrong hands could cause untold misery to anyone on the receiving end.

"Sadly, we live in a violent age. Let's be quite clear that any experimentation by anybody with these kinds of weapons must lead to severe sentences.

"What you have lost is your reputation and your future but I hope in due course you can make amends for that."

The court heard McGee scoured the internet, bought supplies watched videos and read books about how to make bombs.

The device and far right propaganda were uncovered when police searched the home where he lived with his mother Vera and two brothers in an unconnected investigation on November 28 last year.

Bomb disposal experts and counter terrorism police were called after a suspicious device was found in a bedroom.

Roger Smart, prosecuting, said photographs of his bedroom showed he had a "keen interest in the English Defence League", the lawyer said.

However, he was not a member of the EDL despite attending one of their marches and displaying the "No Surrender" insignia flag and an EDL T-shirt and jumper - all bought for him by his mother for his 18th birthday.

Mr Smart said: "The haul of imitation firearms ammunition and IED (improvised explosive device) components suggests a preoccupation that goes far beyond any amateur enthusiast's collection”.

His laptop had links to websites including gore videos, French Skinheads, Russian Racism, Handguns for sale UK and Germany, and YouTube videos of EDL marches against Muslims and Nazi youth.

But the prosecution accepted McGee was not a terrorist and had not intended to help a terrorist organisation.

He told police at interview he made the bomb "out of boredom" while on leave and was interested in right wing politics because he did not like mass immigration.

Antony Chinn QC, defending, said McGee had been an immature teenager at the time, as demonstrated by a notebook he kept decorated with Scooby Doo stickers.

He said: "Although he accepts he made the device he never intended to put it to any violent purpose.”

The judge told the court it was an "unusual and worrying case".

McGee was to 12 months in jail for a charge of possessing a document containing information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism between May 31 2013 and November 29 2013 at Salford in Greater Manchester.

McGee was further jailed for 24 months for a second charge that between September 1 2013 and September 3 2013 at Salford he made an explosive device. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently.