British police have conceded the prison escape ‘terrorist’ may have had inside assistance in his escape, and may already have made it abroad, as ports continue to be watched and the manhunt goes on.
There have been no confirmed sightings of Daniel Abed Khalife, a former British Army soldier accused of spying for Iran who escaped from prison this week, despite at least one case of mistaken identity leading to officers swooping on an innocent member of the public.
21-year-old Khalife escaped Wandsworth prison London — a category ‘B’ facility, as opposed to a high security ‘A’ prison — on Wednesday morning, going from the internal kitchens where he worked to the outside while clinging to the underside of a food delivery truck. It is now reported he was secured underneath the vehicle with a series of straps, which has inevitably raised questions over the degree to which the prisoner, who was held on remand for alleged Official Secrets Act breaches and terrorism law breaches, was able to plot the escape with assistance from others.
The stone walls of HM Prison Wandsworth are seen in the late summer sunshine in south London on September 7, 2023, a day after terror suspect, Daniel Abed Khalife escaped from the prison while awaiting trial. British authorities have issued an all-ports alert to track down a former soldier awaiting trial on terrorism charges, after he escaped from jail by clinging to the bottom of a delivery van. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP) (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Sir Mark Rowley, the head of the Metropolitan Police said on Friday morning while speaking to the LBC radio station that the escape was “clearly preplanned” and acknowledged it was being considered in their investigation whether he had inside help, raising the possibility of a conspiracy to aid the alleged Iranian government mole. Rowley told the broadcaster: “… Did he do this on his own? Did anyone inside the prison help him, did anyone outside the prison help him… it’s a question. Did anyone inside the prison help him, other prisoners, guard staff, was he helped by people outside the walls, or was it simply all of his own creation.”
The fact it has now been over two days since the escape without a single confirmed sighting of Daniel Abed Khalife also raises the prospect that he may have already absconded abroad, a consideration acknowledged a possibility by Police, reports The Times. Nevertheless, enhanced searches continue at British ports, which have led to major delays for travellers.
Despite the considerable security apparatus of Western nations, locating terror suspects can be a difficult and lengthy task, even in extremely urgent cases. One clear example of this is the aftermath of the 2015 ‘Bataclan’ terror attacks in Paris in which 130 people were killed, yet the plan’s ‘mastermind’ Salah Abdeslam was able to flee over the border to Belgium and live undetected in various Brussels suburbs for four whole months.
Abdeslam’s time on the ‘run’ was described at the time as “hiding in plain sight” and at the time of his eventual arrest in the now-infamous Molenbeek suburb was discovered tucking into a takeaway pizza.
Khalife was being held in prison prior to his trial for three counts relating to military information and a hoax bomb which was due to be held on November 13th. Since his escape, it has been revealed the ‘enemy’ he was said to be aiding was Iran. As previously reported:
Khalife was being held pending trial at Wandsworth on for “terrorism and Official Secrets Act offences”. A July 2023 report about his case states Khalife, who has denied the charges against him, had acted against the “safety and interests of the State” in 2021 by using his access to an Army personnel file database to collect information which would be “useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism”.
He was also accused of leaving “three canisters with wires” at his barracks at MOD Stafford which was allegedly a bomb hoax. Khalife was told by a magistrate in February that: “These matters are very serious… If you are convicted, you are going to face a prison sentence in years not months.”