A suspect accused of terrorism offences has escaped from Wandsworth prison in south London and is on the run, sparking a nationwide police appeal for the public to help find him.
Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, a member of the British army until May, is believed to have absconded from the Victorian-era prison by clinging to the bottom of a delivery van at 7.50am on Wednesday. He was working in the prison kitchen and was wearing his chef’s uniform of a white T-shirt, red and white checked trousers and brown steel-toecap boots.
The Metropolitan police said it was making “urgent inquiries” and called on the public to help find the suspect, described as of slim build, about 1.88 metres (6ft 2in) tall, with short brown hair.
The public have been warned not to approach him but to call 999.
Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command also issued a nationwide alert to UK police and law enforcements agencies, including at UK ports and borders. Delays were reported for travellers through Dover and Manchester airport as enhanced checks were carried out.
Khalife was on remand at HMP Wandsworth, a category B rather than high-security prison, awaiting trial in relation to terrorism and Official Secrets Act offences.
He pleaded not guilty in January to eliciting or attempting to elicit information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, to placing an article with the intention of inducing in another a belief that it was likely to explode or ignite, and obtaining, collecting, recording, publishing or communicating information useful to an enemy.
The first two charges were contrary to the Terrorism Act and the third contrary to the Official Secrets Act. He was next due to appear at Woolwich crown court in November.
“We have a team of officers who are making extensive and urgent inquiries in order to locate and detain Khalife as quickly as possible,” said commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s counter-terrorism command.
“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.”
Asked about reports he escaped by clinging to the bottom of a delivery van, a Prison Service spokesperson said: “We are working with the Metropolitan police to recapture this prisoner and are urgently investigating how he escaped.”
Shabana Mahmood, the shadow justice secretary, said: “The Conservatives need to urgently explain how they can’t do the basic job of keeping potentially dangerous criminals locked up. It’s right that the police are given space to recapture this suspect. But Rishi Sunak needs to ensure there is no wider risk because his zombie government lacks grip on the criminal justice system.”
Khalife had links to the Kingston area, Scotland Yard said. It is believed most likely he remains in the London area, although he may have travelled farther afield.
Security has been stepped up at ports and airports in case Khalife tries to flee the country, a Scotland Yard spokesperson confirmed.
HMP Wandsworth was put on lockdown on Wednesday morning but restrictions were later lifted. The lockdown meant a suspected murderer missed a video link appearance at the Old Bailey with a prison officer explaining to the judge: “We have got an operational emergency and no movement across the establishment. No bodies are being moved due to the severity of the matter.”
Wandsworth is a 1,334-inmate capacity local prison built 170 years ago. The latest inspection report by HM Inspector of Prisons from 2021 said: “A serious security breach had led to an escape in 2019. We were given some assurance that action to prevent further escapes had been taken in response to the investigation that followed. However, current local security data evidenced some concerns in the physical aspects of security.”
The Prison Officers’ Association, which represents prison staff, declined to comment on the escape.
Prison escapes in England and Wales have become increasingly rare. There were 88 in 1995-6 but no more than eight a year since 2006-7 and only three between 2019 and 2022, according to HM Prison and Probation Service data.
One prisoner escaped from another category B prison, HMP Bedford, in July 2022, but was recaptured within hours. They were reported to have made it 40 miles as far as Hertfordshire on a bicycle taken from a prison workshop.
