The tearful relatives of fugitive Daniel Abed Khalife have appealed for him to give himself up and blamed the British Army for his current predicament.
“If I could talk to him, I would tell him to end this and give himself up, even though I understand he is afraid,” the unnamed relative said.
Describing him as a “very, very intelligent, easy going and kind boy”, they said that he had changed in the past year and had become “scared to talk about it”. They added that “the army has to answer for what happened”.
Daniel Khalife’s family have described him as an ‘easy going and kind boy’— (PA)
The ongoing search for the suspected terrorist and former soldier is due to enter its fourth day, with the Metropolitan Police confirming their first sighting of Khalife from a member of the public.
The 21-year-old escaped Wandsworth prison on Wednesday morning by clinging on to the underside straps of a BidFood delivery van as it exited the gates at 7.32am.
Speaking toThe Times, his relative urged Khalife to give himself up but did not believe he would seek out his family while he evades the police. “He would never want to cause us any problems. He loves us very much,” they said.
While police remain “open-minded” to the prospect that Khalife could have fled the country, they believe it is “most likely” he is within the UK and search efforts have been concentrated on London and the West Midlands.
Helicopters and police search teams have been spotted at Richmond Park, while airports and ports have increased their security at border crossings.
At the time of his escape, Khalife had been awaiting trial in November after being charged with terror offences and acts against the Official Secrets Act. They include a bomb hoax at an RAF base in Stafford, while it has been reported that he was allegedly trying to pass information to Iran.
He escaped while clinging on to a food delivery van— (The Metropolitan Police)
The relative told The Times that Khalife’s family were secular Iranians who were opposed to the present regime, although they did not campaign against it.
He had only visited the country on two occasions as as a baby and as a young child, with his relative adding: “Danny doesn’t know Iran, he loves this country.”
The former computer networks engineer, who had joined the British Army in 2019, had been raised alongside his sister by their single mother at a flat in Kingston, south-west London.
It has been reported that while he was estranged from his father for several years, they had spoken since he has been held on remand in prison.
“Some people need guidance. Danny needed someone to tell him and he didn’t have that. One single parent can’t do that, children need to be looked after,” the relative said.
Despite his mother’s efforts to persuade him to attend sixth-form college, he instead joined the army and was initially a diligent soldier.
Khalife was being held on remand at HMP Wandsworth in London (Yui Mok/PA)— (PA Wire)
“It seemed to be what he needed, that guidance,” the relative said. “But the army has to answer for what happened.
“He has been in the army for four years, since 2019. I don’t know what they have done to him.”
After initially being arrested on a separate matter in January 2022, he was bailed but rearrested in January this year on terror charges.
A previous hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court heard that he went missing for three weeks before he was found “in or near his car” and charged over the hoax bombs.
The former British Army officer was dressed in a cook’s outfit— (Met Police)
“Two years ago he was quite happy, he said he never wanted to leave, he said they were good people and then something happened last year,” the relative said.
“He was scared to talk about it and so he ran away. I don’t believe the allegations, he spent four years in the army, it is just silly to imagine he would betray them.”
The Ministry of Defence confirmed that Khalife had been discharged from the army in May of this year due to the charges against him.
Police have described the first sighting of Khalife at Wandsworth roundabout as “significant” and have offered a £20,000 reward for any information which leads to his arrest.
