Spooks and anti-terror cops combined to bug phones to aid Daniel Khalife capture
Anti-terror police, MI5 and MI6 all united to bug phones and carry out a raid to assist Daniel Khalife's capture as the hunt for any accomplices intensifies.
As detectives continue to question the 21-year-old former soldier, the manhunt was bought to a close yesterday after a lone police officer pulled the on-the-run fugitive off a bicycle on a canal towpath in Northolt, North West London. Aiding the arrest were "spooks" - highly-trained intelligence officers - who intercepted communications leading dozens of cops to a 'safe house' in Richmond, south west London.
It was there where they were convinced the terror suspect was hiding as the collaboration between the specialist spies saw officers just miss him possibly by minutes, before finally snaring the smiling escapee a few miles away. The SAS - one of the world’s elite special forces that specialises in hostage rescue and counter-terrorism - were also summoned from their Hereford HQ to barracks in Richmond as part of the hunt.
Daniel Khalife pictured with an ex army friend, on a night out near Army base in Blandford
He smiled as he was handcuffed with a cable tie on Saturday (Sky News)Khalife was heard crying: "It's not me! I ain't done anything" before the smiling escapee laughed at the officers detaining him. It is claimed he winked at passers-by as police tied his hands together on the path.
MI5 and MI6 combined forces for an operation with at one stage involved 'direct oversight' from the Home Secretary. It was hailed as the first high profile success for the Government's new counter-intelligence nerve centre.
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Now the focus falls on those who aided his escape and kept him hidden. It comes as two guards at Wandsworth Prison have been suspended according to The Mail on Sunday. Khalife - accused of trying to spy for an enemy state and plotting a fake bomb hoax - is understood to have escaped by strapping himself underneath a food delivery van.
Police swooped thanks to some help from MI5, MI6 and anti-terror police (Peter Macdiarmid/LNP)Detectives believe he was still wearing a prison-issue cook's uniform when he slipped out of the category B jail. Khalife, from Teddington, South West London, is likely to face further charges on top of existing terror and spying allegations in the wake of his prison escape. The Ministry of Justice said that it was investigating the circumstances around Khalife’s escape.
Video footage shows the former soldier being held by cops 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.
Student Ethan Andrews, 20, stumbled across the drama. He said: “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.’ The guy had been on a bike and had a sleeping bag – he seemed to have a change of clothes. The three officers had him on the floor and then five minutes later there were loads more police on the scene.”
Khalife had been held on remand in Wandsworth accused of terror and spying offences. The inmate who served time alongside Khalife told the Mirror: “He always used to brag about escaping from prison. He used to say ‘Just watch me!’ It was an open secret because he was so blatant about it. I’m surprised none of the guards reported him. Someone is going to get it in the neck for this."
Prison chef Khalife is believed to have trapped himself to the bottom of a food lorry during a jail delivery. His escape sparked a nationwide manhunt with motorways and airports put on high alert. The net closed on Friday night as sightings were reported in Chiswick, a leafy neighbourhood six miles from the jail.
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