Prison escape: Former soldier Daniel Khalife jailed for 14 years and three months
A former British soldier who escaped from Wandsworth prison while awaiting trial for spying for Iran has been jailed for 14 years and three months.
Daniel Khalife, 23, sparked a nationwide manhunt after clinging to the underside of a food delivery lorry to break out of the Category B jail on 6 September last year.
He evaded capture for three days before he was spotted riding a stolen mountain bike along the canal towpath in Northolt, west London – about 14 miles away.
Khalife, who was a lance corporal in the Royal Signals, was being held on remand accused of using his role in the military to pass secret information to Iranian spies.
He was arrested after telling the British security services he wanted to be a “double agent” and claimed he had cultivated the relationship over more than two years in the national interest.
But he was found guilty of a charge under the Official Secrets Act and another under the Terrorism Act at the end of last year at Woolwich Crown Court, having admitted escaping from lawful custody part-way through his trial.
Daniel Khalife jailed for spying and prison escape. Pic: Met Police
Sentencing Khalife, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb told him: “When you joined the Army as a young man, you had the makings of an exemplary soldier. However, through the repeated violation of your oath of service, you showed yourself to be, instead, a dangerous fool.”
She added: “You embarked on the course of conduct I have described because of a selfish desire to show off, to achieve by unregulated means what you were told will be difficult for you to achieve by conventional promotion.
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Watch Iran spy Daniel Khalife get jail sentence
“The mere fact that you started on this dangerous and fantastical plan demonstrates your immaturity and lack of wisdom, that you thought it was appropriate to insert yourself – an unauthorised, unqualified and uninformed junior soldier – into communication with an enemy state is perhaps the clearest indication of the degree of folly in your failure to understand at the most obvious level the risk you posed.”
She said he would have been a blackmail risk for his whole career had he not been caught.
The judge said Khalife contacted MI5 and MI6 in his attempts to become a double agent but was ignored. She added: “The greater mischief in your offending is that, having failed to engage any response from the intelligence services of the United Kingdom, you continued betraying your country and exposed others to the possibility of harm.”
There was no reaction from Khalife, who looked down as the judge read out his sentence.
Khalife was caught after three days on the run. Pic: Met Police
The court heard Khalife, from Kingston, in southwest London, joined the Army aged 16, before contacting an Iranian middle-man through Facebook.
Giving evidence, he said he wanted to prove himself after a senior officer told him he would not be able to work in intelligence because his mother was born in Iran.
Khalife left material in public locations in exchange for cash in an old-fashioned spy tactic known as the “dead drop” or “dead letter box”.
Khalife joined Army aged 16
He told his handlers he would stay in the military for 25-plus years for them and twice travelled from his barracks, in Staffordshire, to the Iranian embassy in South Kensington, in London.
The court heard he flew to Istanbul, where he stayed in the Hilton hotel between 4 and 10 August 2020, and “delivered a package” for Iranian agents.
The contact continued while he was deployed to Fort Hood, Texas, where he received training in Falcon, a military communications system and even after he was arrested and released on bail.
Khalife told the jury he was an English “patriot” and “not a terrorist or a traitor,” claiming he “thought he could be James Bond” but had only passed on fake or useless information.
But prosecutors said he “exposed military personnel to serious harm” when he shared sensitive information including a handwritten list of serving soldiers, including some in the SAS and SBS special services.
Khalife’s spying activities will not go down in the “annals of history,” his barrister told the court at his sentencing.
Gul Nawaz Hussain KC reminded the judge how they described his actions as more Scooby Doo than James Bond, adding: “What Daniel Khalife clearly chose to do was not born of malice, was not born of greed, religious fervour or ideological conviction.
“His intentions were neither sinister nor cynical.”
Mr Hussain told the court some of the documents Khalife had forged to pass to the Iranians were “laughably fake”.
Khalife escaped under a food delivery lorry. Pic: Met Police
Khalife used a makeshift sling. Pic: Met Police
Police said he had been planning his “pretty audacious” escape for “quite some time” and the court heard he wrote in his prison diary of a “failed” attempt on 21 August last year.
Khalife, who got a job in the prison kitchen, said he used the trousers inmates wore as uniform, to make a rope, which he attached to the Bidfood lorry on 1 September to test prison security as it made its daily deliveries.
“When I had made the decision to actually leave the prison I was going to do it properly,” he said, describing how he concealed himself, resting his back on the sling as the vehicle was searched.
The driver Balazs Werner said two guards told him someone was missing as they checked the truck with a torch and mirror and he was surprised he was allowed to drive off and that the prison was not in lockdown.
Khalife said he waited for the lorry to stop, dropped to the ground and lay in the prone position until it moved off.
MI5, the Ministry of Defence and counter-terrorism police launched a nationwide manhunt, fearing Khalife would try to flee to Tehran or get to the Iranian embassy in London.
He used the phone at the Rose of York pub in Richmond before a contact withdrew £400 from a nearby cashpoint, which he used to buy a sleeping bag, a mobile phone and a change of clothes.
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Khalife caught on CCTV
CCTV footage captured his movements as he bought clothes from Marks & Spencer, stole a hat from Mountain Warehouse, drank coffee at McDonald’s and even read about his escape in the newspaper.
The court heard that while he was on the run, Khalife was in contact with his Iranian handlers, who used the code name “David Smith”, and he sent the message: “I wait.”
When he was arrested on the footpath of the Grand Union Canal on 9 September Khalife told police: “My body aches. I f****d myself up under the lorry” and “I don’t know how immigrants do it”.
He told jurors his time on the run showed “what a foolish idea it was to have someone of my skillset in prison”.
UK
‘I recognise the error and upset caused’ – Gary Lineker releases statement as BBC departure confirmed
Gary Lineker has confirmed reports he is leaving the BBC after this season’s Match Of The Day and will no longer present its World Cup coverage.
It comes after the 64-year-old “apologised unreservedly” for sharing a social media post illustrated with a rat – which has been used to represent Jewish people in antisemitic propaganda, including Nazi Germany.
In a statement on Monday, Lineker said: “Football has been at the heart of my life for as long as I can remember – both on the pitch and in the studio.
Read more: A history of Gary Lineker’s most controversial posts
“I care deeply about the game, and about the work I’ve done with the BBC over many years. As I’ve said, I would never consciously repost anything antisemitic – it goes against everything I stand for.
“However, I recognise the error and upset that I caused, and reiterate how sorry I am. Stepping back now feels like the responsible course of action.”
Lineker has fronted Match Of The Day since 1999. PA
Lineker said he deleted the post when he learned about the rat’s symbolism, adding that he would “never knowingly share anything antisemitic”.
In a video posted to Instagram, the pundit added: “I’ve stood up for minorities and humanitarian issues and against all forms of racism all of my life, including, of course, antisemitism, which I absolutely abhor.
“There’s no place for it and never should be.”
He went on to thank the “brilliant, talented” people he has worked with and described his relationship with the BBC as “long and wonderful”.
He added: “But it’s the right time for the organisation and myself to go our separate ways.”
Lineker’s last appearance on the BBC will be on Sunday 25 May, the final day of the season.
‘A defining voice in football coverage’
Also confirming Lineker’s exit, BBC director general Tim Davie said: “Gary has acknowledged the mistake he made. Accordingly, we have agreed he will step back from further presenting after this season.
“Gary has been a defining voice in football coverage for the BBC for over two decades. His passion and knowledge have shaped our sports journalism and earned him the respect of sports fans across the UK and beyond.
“We want to thank him for the contribution he has made.”
Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan will share the role of presenting Match of the Day. Pic BBC/PA
The former England star announced in November he would step down from Match Of The Day this year, but was set to return to front the World Cup in 2026, as well as FA Cup coverage.
The presenter was temporarily suspended from the BBC in March 2023 after an impartiality row over comments he made criticising the then Conservative government’s asylum policy.
He will be replaced on Match Of The Day by Gabby Logan, Kelly Cates and Mark Chapman, who will share the presenting role from the next Premier League season.
Lineker has hosted Match Of The Day since 1999 and has been the BBC’s highest-paid on-air talent for seven consecutive years.
He is also the co-founder of podcast producing company Goalhanger, which makes the popular The Rest Is History series and its spin-offs about politics, football, entertainment and money.
Lineker parting ways with the BBC also includes the licensing deal for Goalhanger podcast titles on BBC Sounds which ends this year, the PA news agency reported.
A “significant amount of personal data” of people who applied to the Legal Aid Agency – including criminal records – was accessed and downloaded by hackers, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has said.
The group that carried out the cyber attack says it accessed 2.1 million pieces of data, but the MoJ has not verified that figure, it is understood.
The government became aware of the incident on 23 April, but realised on Friday it was more extensive than first thought.
An MoJ source put the breach down to the “neglect and mismanagement” of the previous government, saying vulnerabilities in the Legal Aid Agency systems have been known for many years.
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA), is an executive agency, sponsored by the MoJ, which is responsible for administering legal aid funding – around £2.3bn in 2023/24.
The data accessed affected those who applied for legal aid in the last 15 years, and may include contact details and addresses of legal aid applicants, their dates of birth, national insurance numbers, criminal history, employment status and financial data such as contribution amounts, debts and payments.
The MoJ has urged anyone who applied for legal aid since 2010 to update any passwords that could have been exposed, and be alert to unknown messages and phone calls.
The organisation’s digital services, which are used by legal aid providers to log their work and get paid, have been taken offline.
‘We needed to take radical action’
Legal Aid Agency chief executive Jane Harbottle has apologised for the breach and acknowledged the news would be “shocking and upsetting”.
“Since the discovery of the attack, my team has been working around the clock with the National Cyber Security Centre to bolster the security of our systems so we can safely continue the vital work of the agency,” she said.
“However, it has become clear that, to safeguard the service and its users, we needed to take radical action. That is why we’ve taken the decision to take the online service down,” she said.
Ms Harbottle said contingency plans are in place for those who need legal support and advice.
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Retail disruption to ‘last months’
The Law Society, an organisation representing solicitors across the UK, blamed the attack on Legal Aid’s “antiquated IT system”.
“The incident once again demonstrates the need for sustained investment to bring the LAA’s antiquated IT system up to date and ensure the public have continued trust in the justice system,” said a Law Society spokesperson.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said it is working with the National Crime Agency and National Cyber Security Centre to investigate the data breach.
The National Crime Agency said it was aware of the incident and was working closely with the MoJ to “better understand the incident and support the department”.
It comes after retailers Co-op, Harrods and Marks & Spencer were hit by cyber attacks, although there is no suggestion that they are connected to the incident at the LAA.
The Who’s drummer Zak Starkey has been sacked by the band, marking the second time he has left in the past month.
The band’s guitarist Pete Townshend made a statement on Instagram on Sunday, saying: “After many years of great work on drums from Zak the time has come for a change.
“A poignant time. Zak has lots of new projects in hand and I wish him the best.”
The announcement comes weeks before the iconic British rock group’s farewell tour.
In response, Starkey, who had been a band member since 1996, said in an Instagram post he would “never have quit” and had experienced “weeks of mayhem”.
“I was fired two weeks after reinstatement and asked to make a statement saying I had quit to follow my other musical endeavours,” he wrote.
“Not true. I love The Who and would never have quit and let down so many amazing people who stood up for me through all this madness.”
Reports surfaced in April that the band had taken the “collective decision” to sack Starkey after a row over their Teenage Cancer Trust shows in March.
Roger Daltrey and Starkey on stage at the Royal Albert Hall in March. Pic: PA
A review of one gig, published in the Metro, suggested frontman Roger Daltrey, who launched the annual gig series for the charity in 2000, had been “frustrated” with the drumming during some tracks.
According to the review, Daltrey at one point paused a song and said: “To sing that song I do need to hear the key, and I can’t. All I’ve got is drums going boom, boom, boom. I can’t sing to that. I’m sorry guys.”
At the time, the 59-year-old drummer said he was “surprised and saddened” by news of his sacking.
Three days after the reports came out, a statement on the band’s official social media pages titled “News Flash! Who Backs Zak,” said he was “not being asked to step down from The Who”.
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In it, Townshend said: “There have been some communication issues, personal and private on all sides, that needed to be dealt with, and these have been aired happily.
“Roger and I would like Zak to tighten up his latest evolved drumming style to accommodate our non-orchestral line-up and he has readily agreed.”
Later in the lengthy statement, he said regarding the gigs: “Zak made a few mistakes and he has apologised.”
At that point, Starkey – who is the son of The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr – reposted Townshend’s statement, with the message: “V grateful to be a part of the Who family Thanks Roger and Pete xx”.
Starkey also drums for supergroup Mantra Of The Cosmos – along with fellow musicians Shaun Ryder and Bez from Happy Mondays, and Andy Bell of Ride and Oasis – and has previously played with Oasis, Lightning Seeds and Johnny Marr.
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