Daniel Khalife: Terror suspect charged with escaping custody at HMP Wandsworth
Daniel Khalife has been charged with escaping custody at HMP Wandsworth, the Metropolitan Police said.
The terror suspect went missing from prison on Wednesday, and was arrested in a London suburb on Saturday – ending 75 hours on the run.
Khalife reportedly laughed as he was apprehended in Northolt on Saturday morning – not long after a plain-clothes police officer pulled him off a bike on a canal towpath.
The former soldier was working in the prison kitchen and was wearing a cook’s uniform when he disappeared. He is believed to have held on to straps on the underside of the truck to make his escape.
Khalife, 21, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
About 40 inmates of HMP Wandsworth have been moved out of the prison after Khalife’s escape, the Justice Secretary told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips.
Alex Chalk said the preliminary findings of his investigation had found the relevant procedures and security staff were in place – but it was still to be established whether they had been followed.
Dozens of individuals on remand had been moved to different sites “out of an abundance of caution”, he said.
Khalife is a former member of the Royal Signals and was based at Beacon Barracks in Stafford.
He was on remand at HMP Wandsworth awaiting trial. He was accused of leaving fake bombs at a military base, a charge under the Terrorism Act, and another under the Official Secrets Act, which alleges he committed “an act prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state”.
He was discharged from the army in May and appeared at the Old Bailey via video link in July, denying the charges against him.