Surveillance centre hailed as critical in capture of escaped terror suspect

The director general of MI5, Ken McCallum: ‘We know our chances of success are better when we combine the knowledge and the skills of experts from different organisations.’ Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

The capture of escaped terrorism suspect Daniel Khalife is being hailed as a vindication of a decision to bring together police and the intelligence agencies into a new £412m surveillance centre.

The four-day search for Khalife was coordinated at the Counter Terrorism Operations Centre (CTOC) in West Brompton, central London, where for the first time in a manhunt counter-terror police worked alongside members of MI5 and MI6.