Prison escape of Daniel Khalife

On 6 September 2023, former British Army soldier Daniel Abed Khalife, who was on remand awaiting trial on terrorism charges, escaped from HM Prison Wandsworth in London. The escape triggered a nationwide police search and delays at major transport hubs. Khalife is believed to have escaped by strapping himself to the bottom of a food delivery lorry while working in the prison's kitchen. After three days on the run, he was captured by the Metropolitan Police in Northolt, London.

Background of Daniel Khalife

Daniel Abed Khalife was born on 27 September 2001 in London, UK. He formerly lived in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. He attended Teddington School, a comprehensive school in Teddington, London, where he was a talented runner. He left school in 2018.

Khalife joined the army in 2018 or 2019. He was a network engineer serving with the Royal Corps of Signals, and was based at Beacon Barracks, Stafford. He was discharged from the army in May 2023, following the charges relating to terrorism and breaking the Official Secrets Act.

Initial charges and imprisonment

In August 2021, Khalife was arrested on suspicion of breaching the Official Secrets Act and was bailed and allowed to return to his army base. In January 2023, he was charged with terror and explosives offences and remanded to HM Prison Wandsworth, a Category B men's prison, to await his trial. The offences related to two incidents in Staffordshire, one in August 2021 and one in January 2023.

Khalife appeared before Westminster Magistrates' Court on 7 February 2023 where details of the accusations were set out, including that he left canisters with wires at MOD Stafford on 2 January 2023 with the intent of "inducing in another the belief the item was likely to explode or ignite" and that he had accessed the Joint Personnel Administration to elicit personal information about soldiers "likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism" in 2021. These offences were contrary to section 51 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 and contrary to section 58A of the Terrorism Act 2000 respectively. On 21 July, Khalife appeared at the Old Bailey and pleaded not guilty to charges under the Official Secrets Act and the Terrorism Act. His trial was due to begin on 13 November 2023.

Escape and police search

On 6 September 2023, Khalife escaped from HM Prison Wandsworth in south west London where he was being held on remand. He was said to have been working in the prison kitchen and was wearing a chef's uniform consisting of a white t-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown steel-toe cap boots. The Metropolitan Police (Met) believe that Khalife escaped by hiding beneath a food delivery van using a material which was "made from bedsheets with clips at each end". A food supply vehicle had left the prison at 7:30 am and contingency plans for an "unaccounted prisoner" were activated at 7:50 am, including the lockdown of the prison and informing the police. At 8:37 am, police stopped the food van in East Putney, and discovered strapping—possibly made from bedsheets—beneath the vehicle.

Khalife's escape sparked a police search, and additional security checks at British airports and ports. During the night of 7/8 September, Richmond Park, the largest park in London, was closed while the Met undertook a search; this included using helicopters with infra-red technology to search for body heat. The Met said that 150 officers were involved in the search, in addition to police from other forces and members of the Border Force. From 8 September, a reward of up to £20,000 was offered for information leading to Khalife's arrest.

At 5 pm on 8 September, police confirmed a sighting of Khalife in southwest London on the morning of the escape. They stated that a man fitting Khalife's description was seen walking away from a Bidfood van near Wandsworth Roundabout shortly after his escape; the man then walked towards Wandsworth town centre.

Capture and subsequent charges

On the morning of 9 September, Metropolitan Police reported that Khalife had been sighted overnight in the Chiswick area of London.

A plain-clothed officer was informed that Khalife had been seen on a bicycle on the Grand Union Canal towpath near Rowdell Road in Northolt. The officer attended, drew his Taser, and told Khalife to get off the bicycle. Khalife was arrested at 10:41 am on suspicion of being unlawfully at large and escaping lawful custody, approximately 14 miles (23 km) from Wandsworth prison. In his possession was a mobile phone and a bag containing money and receipts which suggested that he had purchased clothes and credit for the mobile phone.

On 10 September, the Metropolitan Police confirmed Khalife had been charged with escaping from lawful custody in relation to escaping from HMP Wandsworth. He appeared before Westminster Magistrates Court on 11 September, where he was remanded in custody until 29 September when he will appear at the Old Bailey. Following the hearing he was taken from court to the Category A Belmarsh Prison. On 21 September, Khalife appeared in court from Belmarsh Prison via videolink and pleaded not guilty to escaping from lawful custody. On 21 December, a new trial date was set to begin from 7 October 2024.

Reaction

On 7 September 2023, Alex Chalk MP, the Justice Secretary, ordered an investigation into the escape with a preliminary report being requested to be ready by the end of the week. This will include investigating the vehicle in question, whether other prisoners could enact a similar escape, and how Khalife was assigned to the kitchen, usually a valued job given to trusted prisoners, where he had access to knives and a potential escape route. On 8 September, Sir Mark Rowley, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, described the escape as "clearly pre-planned", and that the police were investigating whether he was assisted in his escape by other prisoners, prison officers, or people from outside the prison.

The chief prison inspector, Charlie Taylor, said that there are "too many prisoners in Wandsworth for the amount of staff who are there". Inspectors also stated that "more than 30% of prison officers were either absent or unable to work their full duties." On 9 May 2024, Taylor wrote to the Secretary of State for Justice to urge him to put the prison into emergency measures after an inspection raised concerns about ongoing failings in security at Wandsworth.

On 10 September, Chalk confirmed that approximately 40 inmates had been transferred from Wandsworth following a review after Khalife's escape from the prison.

On 15 September, figures published by the Ministry of Justice indicated that 80 prison officers (around 39% of the workforce) did not turn up for work at Wandsworth Prison on the morning of Khalife's escape. The UK government said staffing levels were "above the minimum" needed.

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