Suspected terrorist on run will have been 'trained to escape' and 'groom' people
An escaped terrorist on the run since he absconded from prison earlier this morning may have used his soldier training to escape, an expert has claimed.
A massive police manhunt has been launched for Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, who has been missing since this morning. He had been on remand at HMP Wandsworth where he was awaiting trial in relation to terrorism and Official Secrets Act offences
The escape caused long delays across UK airports as police made stringent checks on passengers’ documents as they boarded flights. Tonight, an expert told the Mirror the escapee could have drawn on his past to escape the prison.
Catch the latest updates in the search for Khalife in our live blog here.
Daniel Abed Khalife has escaped from Wandsworth Prison (Metropolitan Police / SWNS)Mark Leech, managing director of the Prison Oracle, said: “As a soldier he will have been trained to escape captivity. As a soldier he will have been aware of how to conduct himself, trained in how to groom others, how to give false impressions, how to spot weaknesses in security and how to fully exploit them as he clearly did here.
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“The question is why he was not as a terror suspect detained in Belmarsh - his security classification will have been assessed as Category B and his Escape Risk assessed as low, that is something that in hindsight they will want to review and the investigation will look into that.
“It may well be he was wrongly security classified, detained in the wrong establishment as a result, and his escape risk was not properly assessed - he may well have given the impression to perhaps inexperienced staff who conducted his security categorisation he was far less of a security escape risk than in reality he has proved to be.”
As well as airports, officials have been seen searching cars at Holyhead port in Wales as well as the Port of Dover. Police helicopters and plain clothed cops are also reportedly patrolling the streets of Kingston, London, where Daniel Abed Khalife is known to have connections.
Mr Leech added: “The point to make is escapes are exceptionally rare - but that is in itself often precisely why they then succeed when they do occur.
“The issue is one of routine, coupled with prison staff shortages, perhaps the use of civilian caterers in this case who are not trained prison officers, along with Gate Security procedures that just become routine and which he may well have spotted as being weak when going to and from court.”
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has reportedly sought reassurances over the security of HMP Wandsworth, following the escape of Daniel Abed Khalife this morning. The MP held an "urgent call" with the prison governor and other senior prison service officials to "seek reassurances about security at the prison" it was reported.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: “We are working with the Metropolitan Police to recapture this prisoner and are urgently investigating how he escaped.”
A spokesperson for the Met Police said: "An alert was issued by the Counter Terrorism Command earlier today in relation to Khalife through established operational briefing channels to relevant UK police and law enforcements agencies, including those at UK ports and borders."
If seen, the public are advised not to approach Khalife and to call 999 immediately, quoting reference CAD 1631/06SEP23.
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