Student who planted bomb on Tube jailed for 15 years

A student from Devon has been jailed for 15 years for planting a home-made bomb on a Tube train in London.

Damon Smith from Newton Abbot constructed the device at home using a clock he bought for £2 from Tesco.

The 20-year-old had researched how to make the bomb on Google and had read an al-Qaeda article entitled 'Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom'.

He was found guilty of possession of an explosive substance with intent and admitted another charged of making a bomb hoax.

The incident happened on October 20 last year when Smith carried a rucksack packed with explosives and deadly ball-bearing shrapnel onto the Underground on his way to college in North London.

He was seen on CCTV travelling on the Jubilee Line before getting off and leaving the bomb on the floor.

The device was timed to go off within minutes and would have exploded as commuters were being ordered onto the platform.

Smith went on to college and checked online news websites when he returned home for news of an explosion.

When he was arrested by counter-terrorism officers,Smith admitted making the bomb but claimed he only meant it to spew harmless smoke as a Halloween joke.

The former altar boy - who is autistic - smiled in the dock as a judge sentenced him to 15 years in a young offenders' institution with an extended period of five years on licence.

Judge Richard Marks QC said that although Smith had an interest in Islam, he was not motivated by terrorism. He told the defendant the seriousness of his offence in the context of the Manchester terror attack could not be overstated.

Smith's mother had called for a lenient sentence in light of the circumstances around his arrest.

In court Richard Carey-Hughes QC - who was acting in Smith's defence - said it was a tragic case for him and his mother.

He said the 20-year-old had 'learnt his lesson' and was sorry for the fear and disturbance he produced, citing his autism as the root cause of his actions.

Speaking outside court, Damon's mother Antonitza Smith told ITV News her son needs psychiatric help, not prison.

But Judge Marks argued the defendant had showed a lack of empathy and had constructed other devices before planting one on the Tube.

A search of Smith's home in South London revealed he was obsessed with weapons and explosives.

Police seized a blank-firing self-loading pistol and a BB gun, both bought legally, as well as a knuckleduster and a knife which he showed off in an online video.

They also uncovered torn-off scraps of shredded paper with bomb-makinginstructions and a "shopping list" of components.

Smith told police he was interested in Islam but denied being an extremist, even though he had posed next to an image of the Brussels-born Islamic terrorist alleged to have masterminded the attacks in Paris in November 2015.

He had been interested in bomb-making since the age of 10 and said it was"something to do when he was bored".

Smith, who grew up living with his mother in Newton Abbot said he had thought about putting a bomb in a park but decided it would be "more funny" to delay train passengers.