Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, was awaiting trial at HMP Wandsworth in London. Photo: BBC screenshot / Met police
A nationwide manhunt has been launched across the UK for a former soldier suspected of terror offences who escaped from prison on Wednesday morning.
Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, was awaiting trial at HMP Wandsworth in London after being accused of leaving fake bombs at a military base.
It is believed he escaped via a prison kitchen by strapping himself to the bottom of a food delivery van.
Extra security checks at airports and ports have led to long delays.
A working theory is that Khalife had been in the kitchen when he began his escape from HMP Wandsworth, a category B prison in south-west London, at around 7.50am (UK time).
He is 1.8 metres tall and was last seen wearing a prison-issue chef's uniform of a white T-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown steel toe cap boots, police said.
Police believe Khalife poses a "low risk" to the public but people are being urged not to approach him.
Khalife has links to the Kingston area of London and to the North West, but the search has been expanded across the country.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, confirmed all police forces and UK border points have been put on notice.
Airports and ports have been asked to carry out additional security measures, resulting in delays being reported across the UK, including at Heathrow Airport, Manchester Airport, and the Port of Dover.
Disruption at border departure points is expected to ease this evening.
Commander Murphy said counter-terror officers were being deployed across London, where the search is being focused.
But he said Khalife "could be anywhere in the country at the moment and we are mindful of the risk of him potentially leaving the country".
Khalife was on remand awaiting trial in relation to terrorism and Official Secrets Act offences. He was allegedly working for a hostile state.
In February, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard he allegedly left fake devices at MOD Stafford "with the intention of inducing in another the belief the item was likely to explode or ignite".
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.
Khalife had been based at MOD Stafford - also known as Beacon Barracks - when he is alleged to have committed the offences.
He disappeared from the base on 2 January after the alleged bomb hoax, a court previously heard, before he was arrested weeks later on 26 January.
A prosecutor told Westminster Magistrates' Court on 28 January there had been "active efforts to look for him" and he was "arrested in or near his car".
After that court appearance, he was denied bail and held at HMP Belmarsh, a high security category A prison.
Khalife appeared in court on 28 January, 17 February and 21 July, according to the PA News agency archive.
By July he was being held at the lower security category B Wandsworth prison, appearing for his court date that month by video link, but it is not clear when he was transferred there.
Questions being asked over choice of prison
Questions are privately being asked in government about whether it was appropriate that Khalife was being held at a lower security prison.
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk held an "urgent call" with the prison governor and other senior prison service officials to "seek reassurances about security at the prison".
Labour shadow justice secretary Shabana Mahmood said the government needed to "urgently explain how they can't do the basic job of keeping potentially dangerous criminals locked up".
Rosena Allin-Khan, the Labour MP for Tooting - the constituency where the prison is situated - said the jail is "chronically understaffed".
She pointed to figures she obtained showing that around a third of the shifts that needed to be covered on a single day in December 2022 were unfilled.
At the time of his escape, Khalife was being held on remand pending a trial due to begin on 13 November at Woolwich Crown Court.
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed he had been kicked out of the armed forces earlier this year, despite the fact he has not been found guilty.
A spokesman said: "As a result of being held on remand for these charges, Daniel Khalife was been discharged from the Army on 22 May, 2023."
Rare escapes
Prison escapes in the UK have been rare in recent years, with just five since 2017, and fewer than 20 since 2010.
The last infamous escape involving terrorism inmates was the escape from Whitemoor prison in 1994 by IRA prisoners.
A January 2022 report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons said a "serious security breach had led to an escape" from HMP Wandsworth in 2019.
The report said the inspectorate had been given "some assurance that action to prevent further escapes had been taken" but said "current local security data evidenced some concerns in the physical aspects of security".
The prison was placed on lockdown in the hours following Khalife's escape but restrictions have now been lifted.
Additional reporting by George Bowden
This story was first published by the BBC.
