His run ultimately lasted 72 hours. Daniel Khalife, a former British soldier prosecuted for terrorism offenses and suspected of espionage, was arrested on Saturday September 9 in the district of Chiswick, west London. He was arrested shortly before 11 a.m. and is in police custody, Scotland Yard announced on the social network X.
London Metropolitan Police Chief Mark Rowley said on Friday that his department was investigating possible complicity inside the prison. The escape of 21-year-old Daniel Khalife on Wednesday from Wandsworth prison in a delivery truck sparked a nationwide manhunt.
Terrorist offense and suspicion of espionage
This escape aroused astonishment and raised questions about the prison system. Daniel Khalife escaped by clinging to a van coming to make a delivery to the kitchen of the prison where he worked. Straps were found under the vehicle, suggesting he was strapped into it. The leak was “clearly prepared in advance”estimated Mark Rowley.
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 was 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 denies the accusations against him.