The run is over. A former British soldier prosecuted for terrorist offenses and suspected of espionage, Daniel Khalife, was arrested this Saturday in London, three days after his escape from prison, police in the British capital announced. “Officers from the Metropolitan Police arrested Daniel Khalife, who escaped from Wandsworth Prison on September 6,” police said on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
He was arrested shortly before 11 a.m. in an area of west London where his presence had been reported and is in police custody, Scotland Yard said. Investigators suspect he escaped by tying himself to a delivery truck. Since the G20 summit in India, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomed the news to British television channels, thanking the police for their “terrific work” and the “public for their help”.
Confidential documents sent to terrorist organizations?
The 21-year-old is suspected of having collected intelligence that could be used by terrorists or enemies of the United Kingdom. According to several media, including the BBC, he is suspected of having acted for the benefit of Iran. This escape caused amazement and raised questions about the security of the prison system.
Daniel Khalife escaped by clinging to a truck that had come to make a delivery for the prison kitchen, where he worked. Straps were found under the vehicle, suggesting he was strapped into it. The leak was “clearly prepared in advance,” London police chief Mark Rowley said on Friday.
Daniel Khalife is being prosecuted for acts dating back to January and August 2021, on a Royal Air Force base in Strafford, in central England. He is accused of having obtained or attempted to obtain information “about an individual who was or has been a member” of the British army, “likely to be used by a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism” . He is also being prosecuted for a false bomb threat on January 2. He was kicked out of the army in May. He contests the charges against him.