Soldier accused of terror offences escapes from prison

A soldier accused of planting fake bombs at a military base has gone on the run from prison, sparking an “urgent” police hunt.

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, went missing from HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday shortly before 8am, where he was being held awaiting trial for a terror offence, the bomb hoax and an alleged breach of the Official Secrets Act.

He has denied all the charges against him.

The prison service said it is “urgently investigating” how he managed to escape.

Khalife was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown steel-toe-cap boots, the Metropolitan Police said, and is slim, with short brown hair. He is 6ft 2in.

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command said: “We have a team of officers who are making extensive and urgent enquiries in order to locate and detain Khalife as quickly as possible.

“However, the public can help us as well and should anyone see Khalife, or have any information as to where he might be, then please call 999 immediately.

“I also want to reassure the public that we have no information which indicates, nor any reason to believe that Khalife poses a threat to the wider public, but our advice if you do see him is not to approach him and call 999 straight away.”

Khalife appeared at the Old Bailey in late July where he denied the charges he is facing.

He is accused of eliciting or trying to elicit information that could be useful for a terrorist on August 2 2021, and breaching the Official Secrets Act by gathering information that could be useful to an enemy between May 1 2019 and January 6 2022.

The serviceman, formerly of Beacon Barracks, Beaconside, Stafford, is also accused of a criminal offence relating to the alleged bomb hoax.

It is claimed that he placed “three cannisters with wires on a desk in his accommodation” with the intention of inducing in another a belief this was “likely to explode or ignite and thereby cause personal injury or damage to property”.

A trial date has been set for November 13 at Woolwich Crown Court.

HMP Wandsworth is a category B prison, the second highest level of security.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: “We are working with the Metropolitan Police to recapture this prisoner and are urgently investigating how he escaped.”

The escape from Wandsworth prison had a knock-on effect of disrupting court hearings for other defendants on remand at the south London site.

On Wednesday morning, murder-accused Earl Morin-Britton, 36, from Sutton, south London, missed his first appearance at the Old Bailey by video link from Wandsworth prison due to the lockdown.

Judge Alexia Durran asked a prison officer on a video call to explain the problem.

The officer said: “We have got an operational emergency and no movement across the establishment.

“No bodies are being moved due to the severity of the matter.

“A lot of appearances in court will be delayed.”

The judge put off the case until Monday for the defendant to attend.