Daniel Khalife: No trace of prison escape terror suspect

A manhunt is continuing for terror suspect Daniel Abed Khalife, more than 24 hours after he escaped from prison.

The 21-year-old ex-soldier was on remand charged with collecting information which might be useful to an enemy, understood to be Iran.

He escaped from Wandsworth prison in south London on Wednesday morning, wearing his prison-issue cooks uniform.

It is believed he managed to exit the prison grounds by strapping himself to the underside of a food delivery van.

His escape led to heightened security at airports and ports around the UK.

Questions are now being asked over longstanding issues at Wandsworth prison – one of the country’s most overcrowded jails.

Mr Khalife was wearing red and white checked trousers, a white T-shirt and brown steel toe cap boots when he allegedly strapped himself to the underside of a van that was leaving the prison.

He “will be found and he will be made to face justice,” the Justice Secretary Alex Chalk told the House of Commons.

Mr Khalife joined the Army in 2019 and had been based at the MoD Stafford – also known as Beacon Barracks – when he disappeared on 2 January after an alleged bomb hoax. He was arrested a few weeks later, on 26 January.

He was remanded at HMP Wandsworth on 28 January, Mr Chalk told MPs.

He said, contrary to press reports, Mr Khalife was never held in Belmarsh – a high security category A prison – after Labour’s Shabana Mahmood questioned why he had been moved from there to Wandsworth.

Mr Khalife is due to appear in court on 13 November to stand trial in relation to terrorism and Official Secrets Act offences, including preparing an act of terrorism and collecting information useful to an enemy.

A previous court appearance heard he “elicited” personal information about soldiers from the Ministry of Defence Joint Personnel Administration System which was “likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism” in 2021.

At an earlier court appearance at the Old Bailey in July, he denied the charges against him.

Mr Chalk said that “no stone must be left unturned in getting to the bottom of what happened,” and added that he wanted to know who was on duty on Wednesday morning “ranging from the kitchen to the prison gate” and what protocols were in place.

He told MPs that he has ordered two urgent reviews into the categorisation and placement of all prisoners at Wandsworth, and all those in custody charged with terrorism offences.

Police have said that while he presents a low-risk to the public, anyone who spots Mr Khalife should call 999 and not approach him directly if they believe they have seen him.

But there are concerns that Mr Khalife might be looking to flee the country.

Cdr Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, confirmed all police forces and UK border points had been put on notice.

The Port of Dover as well as airports around the country have seen longer queues and delays due to increased checks, although the search is being focused in London. Mr Khalife is believed to have links to Kingston in south-west London and north-west England.

On Thursday, Kent Police confirmed junctions eight and nine of the M20 were temporarily shut due to the enhanced security checks – and to allow freight heading for mainland Europe to queue on the empty section of the motorway.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC that Wandsworth prison – which for the last few years has held 60-80% more prisoners than it was designed for – has long been known for its overcrowding and staffing issues, and that Mr Khalife’s escape shows “there has been a failure” which requires a “full investigation and answers from ministers”.

“Any government has to make sure national security is taken immensely seriously and ministers need to respond to warnings that are given to them,” Ms Cooper said.

Mark Fairhurst, chairman of the Prison Officers’ Association (POA), Mark Fairhurst, said the union had been saying since 2010 that “cuts have consequences”.

He said: “You cannot take out £900m from the budget with reduced staffing levels up and down the country and expect the Prison Service to operate as if nothing has happened”.

He described Wandsworth as a “typical example” of a “stressful and violent workplace with inadequate staff levels”.