09 September 2023 , 15:20
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On-the-run terror suspect Daniel Khalife was caught after being pulled off a push bike by a plain-clothed officer, police have said.
Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism boss Commander Dominic Murphy told reporters the 21-year-old former soldier, who escaped HMP Wandsworth four days ago, was arrested on suspicion of being unlawfully at large and being an escaped prisoner. He was apprehended just before 11am on Saturday on a canal towpath in west London and is now in police custody, the force said.
Video footage shows the former soldier being held by cops this morning in west London, with a bike and sleeping bag nearby. He also had a Waitrose cool bag of groceries when officers swooped, before a forensics teams attended to scour the scene. Eyewitness Ethan Andrews was on his way to a nearby gym when he spotted the officers holding down a suspect beside a Grand Union Canal bridge, and said he was told to stop filming as he captured video of the incident.
Daniel Khalife was on the run for around 75 hours (Metropolitan Police/AFP via Gett)
The ex-soldier was jailed earlier this year (Sky News)20-year-old Bath University student, Mr Andrews, from west London, told The Sun: "I was crossing over the bridge and saw this man with cable ties around his hands. One of the cops said, 'We're undercover officers.' I keep up with the news and I recognised him and said, 'Is that the guy who was in prison?', and one officer said, 'yes'.
"I pulled my phone out and started filming. The police told me not to but how often am I going to see something like this again? The three officers had him on the floor and then five minutes later there were loads more police on the scene - some from the Territorial Support Group too. The guy had been on a bike and had a sleeping bag - he seemed to have a change of clothes."
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Footage released of lorry Khalife used to escape prison (Met Police)During a behind closed doors press briefing Commander Murphy went on to say: "It's been about 75 hours since he went missing from the prison to the point of his arrest. That's pretty quick given the challenge of trying to find this individual." He added: "In terms of the investigation, it really gathered momentum yesterday afternoon, with a number of calls from the public, but really took a different course last night, when we did an intelligence-led search in the Richmond area in the early hours of this morning.
"Whilst we didn't find him at that search, while we were at that search, we had a number of calls from the public over the next hour or two, giving us various sightings of him." Addressing the arrest, Mr Murphy said after he was pulled off the push bike, Khalife was "fully cooperative and handcuffed and arrested".
Khalife absconded from HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday morning (NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)He said: "At 10.41am he was arrested in Rowdell Road in UB5 in London on the canal towpath. He was actually arrested by a plain clothes officer... and he was riding a pedal cycle, so a pushbike, at the time, was pulled off that pushbike by that officer and arrested at that location. Upon being detained by the officer he was fully co-operative and handcuffed and arrested." Officers were seen checking people's gardens, stopping cars, inspecting car boots and asking residents for their IDs throughout the morning.
Speaking separately to PA news agency, Mr Murphy went on to say any accomplices to Daniel Khalife's escape from prison "before, during or after" the event will form part of the police investigation. Asked if police think there are other people involved, Mr Murphy said: "We remain entirely open minded and that will form part of our investigation. Clearly we are moving resources now into that investigation.
Khalife pictured with an ex army pal
Khalife pictured at his barracks while serving in the forces (Sky News)"I should say while the manhunt was ongoing, that the investigation continued the whole time and of course, as part of being open minded, if anyone did help or support Daniel in his escape, either before, during or after, they will form part of our investigation." Mr Murphy also said the cooperation of the public has been "so significant" in finding Khalife.
He added: "We wouldn't have been able to find anything without the public's help and support. It really helped focus our efforts. Clearly, this has also been an intelligence-led investigation, but the media and the public have played a very, very substantial role and that cooperation has been so significant in finding Daniel and making sure that he's back in custody today."
This is what the 21-year-old wore during the escape (PA)Asked for further detail on Khalife's arrest, Mr Murphy said: "The officer was responding as part of our search strategy following the call from the members of public. And of course, we work really closely with intelligence partners here in counter terrorism. The officer was in that area as a result of being tasked to search for Daniel, saw him on a pedal cycle, was able to pull him off that pushbike, and arrest him at that moment in time. After his arrest, Daniel was fully cooperative."
Mr Murphy said the Met received "well over 100 calls" from members of the public, with the number increasing "substantially" on Friday evening and in the early hours of Saturday. He described the investigation as "extremely complicated", with a lot of police activity being led by intelligence.
Police patrol Richmond Park south-west London on Friday (Alex Lentati/LNP)Detectives believe the former soldier escaped from HMP Wandsworth by strapping himself to the bottom of a delivery lorry after leaving the prison kitchen in a cook's uniform. It is unclear whether he will be taken back to the category B prison or to a higher-security location.
Khalife was awaiting trial after allegedly planting a fake bomb at an RAF base and gathering information that might be useful to terrorists or enemies of the UK. Detailing where Khalife had been spotted, Mr Murphy said the force was informed of two sightings in the Chiswick area, causing them to redeploy resources into the area. The last confirmed sighting of the suspect was in the Church Street and Chiswick Mall area, he added.
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Labour demanded answers from the Government now that Khalife has been arrested. Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: "We need answers about how on earth a prisoner charged with terror and national security offences could have escaped in this way." Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was "very pleased" Khalife has been arrested as he praised efforts by the police and the public in finding him.