11 September 2023 , 09:27
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Daniel Khalife has appeared in court charged with escaping from custody at HMP Wandsworth after he was arrested on a canal towpath following a four-day search.
Today, he appeared in the dock at Westminster Magistrates' Court flanked by two police officers. He wore a grey jumper and jogging bottoms. The court heard he strapped himself to the underside of a food delivery vehicle using a material “which may have been from bed sheets”. Prosecutor Thomas Williams said the 21-year-old is accused of “using the strap to support himself to escape”. The court also heard that, when Khalife was arrested, he had a bag containing cash and a mobile phone with him.
The former soldier had been missing for four days, according to police, before he was reportedly pulled off a bike by a plainclothes counter-terrorism officer. The Metropolitan Police said a member of the public reported seeing a man matching Khalife's description walking away from a Bidfood van that had stopped near the south entrance to Wandsworth Roundabout on Wednesday morning. Officers carried out a search in the Richmond area and although Khalife was not found there, the force received a number of calls from the public with sightings of the suspect nearby.
An escorted armoured police van arrives at Westminster Magistrates Court ahead of an appearance by former soldier Daniel Khalife (Getty Images)Police checked gardens, stopped and inspected cars and asked residents for their IDs throughout Saturday morning. Khalife was allegedly found on a canal towpath in Northolt, west London, around eight miles from where he was last seen by a member of the public. Footage shows the former soldier sitting in handcuffs next to a sleeping bag and a Waitrose cool bag as six men surround him before dozens of vehicles descended on the scene.
The officer yelled "Don’t move or we’ll shoot" as they caught the terror suspect, who witnesses say was heard crying: "It's not me! I ain't done anything," as he was wrestled to the ground before his hands were tied together. Wearing a white T-shirt, dark shorts and trainer socks, the blue bike Khalife used is seen placed upside down. He was seen sitting and waiting while handcuffed as a pair of grey trainers sat alongside him. A sleeping bag can also be seen in the clip.
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Daniel Khalife appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court this moring (PA)He was on remand at HMP Wandsworth after being charged with terror offences in January. On September 6, Khalife allegedly strapped himself to the bottom of a food delivery van to escape HMP Wandsworth. He is now charged with escaping custody pending trial at the Old Bailey, contrary to common law.
Today, he was remanded in custody by magistrates. He will next appear at the Old Bailey on Friday, September 29.