UK
Daniel Khalife escaped prison using material which may have been from bed sheets, court hears
Daniel Khalife has appeared in court accused of using bedsheets to strap himself under a food truck to escape from Wandsworth prison.
The 21-year-old terror suspect allegedly broke out on Wednesday before being arrested in a London suburb on Saturday – ending 75 hours on the run.
The former soldier was said to be working in the prison kitchen and wearing a cook’s uniform when he disappeared.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard Khalife is accused of escaping HMP Wandsworth by strapping himself to the underside of a food delivery vehicle using a material “which may have been from bed sheets”.
Daniel Khalife flanked by police officers as he appears in court
He appeared in the dock charged with escaping from lawful custody on 6 September.
He had arrived at the court building around 9.45am in an armoured police van.
Wearing a grey prison-issue tracksuit, Khalife was flanked by a security officer and two uniformed police officers, with three more plain-clothes officers in the well of the court.
Khalife, a former member of the Royal Signals who was based at Beacon Barracks in Stafford, spoke to confirm his name and date of birth but was not asked to indicate a plea to the charge.
It states that while at Wandsworth prison “being in custody on a criminal charge” he “escaped from the said custody”.
Khalife’s lawyer Gul Nawaz Hussain KC made no application for bail and deputy chief magistrate Tan Ikram remanded him in custody ahead of his next court appearance as part of the so-called terrorism list at the Old Bailey on 29 September.
Daniel Abed Khalife and Wandsworth Prison
At the time of the alleged offence, he was on remand at HMP Wandsworth awaiting trial. He had been accused of leaving fake bombs at a military base, a charge under the Terrorism Act, and another under the Official Secrets Act, which alleges he committed “an act prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state”.
He was discharged from the army in May and appeared at the Old Bailey via video link in July, denying the charges against him.
About 40 inmates of HMP Wandsworth have been moved out of the prison after Khalife’s alleged escape, the Justice Secretary told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips.
Alex Chalk said dozens of individuals on remand had been moved to different sites “out of an abundance of caution”, he said.