Who is Vaughn Dolphin? White supremacist convicted of terrorism charges

Dolphin was contacted by police two weeks after the explosion and said he had been manufacturing a powder out of matches, which he pounded with a hammer, resulting in a “bigger bang than I was expecting” that alarmed the neighbours.

He described himself as “libertarian” and “a little nationalist,” with interests in chemistry and militaria influenced by his grandfather’s military service.

Dolphin said before the jury that he had no interest in the far-right and only went to extremist chatrooms because he was lonely.

A defence psychiatrist found he had a clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder saying he had problems with social interaction, communicating and had developed restricted and repetitive interests.

However, Mr Brook told the jury that Dolphin’s excuses were “among other words, complete and utter nonsense.”

Dolphin, now 20, was found guilty on six charges of having goods useful for terrorism, two counts of spreading terrorist literature, two counts of having explosive ingredients, and one count of having a handgun. Later this month, he will be sentenced.

“Dolphin claimed an interest in chemicals and military memorabilia, but he combined a toxic extremist mindset, sharing right wing material online with the real world acquisition of explosive material and homemade weapons,” said Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Payne, head of Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands.