Fears Daniel Khalife has left the country but cops believe he's still in London

07 September 2023 , 16:53

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Daniel Abed Khalife, the ex-soldier turned suspected terrorist

Police are not ruling out the possibility that a suspected terrorist on the run from prison may have fled the country - but state they do believe he is in London.

Daniel Abed Khalife escaped from HMP Wandsworth, in south London, yesterday morning strapped to the bottom of a food delivery van. The 21-year-old had been discharged from the army in May of this year after allegedly planting three fake bombs at an RAF base, and gathering information that could be useful to a terrorist.

Khalife has denied all three charges against him. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown, steel toe-cap boots, the Metropolitan Police said, and is slim and 6ft 2in, with short brown hair.

But in an update this afternoon, Met Police counter terror chief Dominic Murphy said it was “absolutely possible” that he had already left the country, but that officers believe he remains somewhere in the capital.

For all the latest updates in the search for Khalife, follow our live blog HERE.

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Timeline of the escape

Daniel Khalife escaped from prison yesterday morning (Sky News)

The 21-year-old was due to face trial in November (Metropolitan Police/AFP via Gett)

• The van left HMP Wandsworth around 7:32am
• Khalife declared missing at 7.50am
• Police were notified around 8:15am
• Around 8.37am the van was stopped on the junction with Upper Richmond Road and Carlton Drive, when it had been on its way back

This means it took an hour and five minutes before police got to the van after it left the site, with Khalife strapped to its underbelly. However, there have been no confirmed sightings of him, something police admitted was "unusual".

In a press briefing on Thursday, Mr Murphy said: “This was a really busy area of London and we’ve had no confirmed sightings in any of that information, which is a little unusual, and perhaps testament to Daniel Khalife’s ingenuity in his escape and some of his movements after his escape.

HMP Wandsworth (Press Association Images)

“It’s important that we remember that we have some of the best military in the world here in the UK and he was trained. He was a trained soldier – so ultimately he has skills that perhaps some sections of the public don’t have.”

Earlier today, the M20 was shut between Junctions 8 and 9 due to “enhanced port security checks” Kent Police announced. This was a part of the ongoing hunt for the missing ex-soldier as Justice Secretary Alex Chalk was adamant he would be found.

Prison van route

This is the route the food delivery van took that Khalife strapped himself to, to escape HMP Wandsworth, including going right past a train station:

• It turned out the prison and onto Heathfield Road, then turned left onto Magdalen Road, and left again onto Trinity Road, A214.
• From there it continued up onto Wandsworth Road Roundabout, and took the first exit onto Swandon Way, A217.
• Then it turned left, onto Old York Road, passing Wandsworth Town train station, before heading onto Fairfield Street.
• It turned right onto Wandsworth High Street, and straight onto West Hill before it was stopped at the junction of Carlton Drive and Upper Richmond Road.

Khalife was accused of planting fake bombs - three cannisters with wires protruding from them - at the MOD Stafford military base on January 2. He had previously appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

The court heard how he left the device "with the intention of inducing in another the belief the item was likely to explode or ignite". The 21-year-old was discharged from the army in May and denies the charges against him.

Kieren Williams