A police vehicle in the Chiswick district of London on September 9, 2023. JAMIE LASHMAR / AP
His run ultimately lasted seventy-two hours. Daniel Khalife, a former British soldier charged with terrorism offenses and suspected of espionage, was arrested in the Chiswick area of west London on Saturday September 9th. He was arrested shortly before 11 a.m. and is in police custody, Scotland Yard said on the social network X.
The head of London’s Metropolitan Police, Mark Rowley, said on Friday that his services were investigating possible complicity within the prison. Daniel Khalife, 21, escaped from Wandsworth Prison in a van on Wednesday sparked a nationwide manhunt.
Terrorist crime and suspicion of espionage
This escape caused astonishment and raised questions about the prison system. Daniel Khalife escaped by clinging to a van that was making a delivery to the kitchen of the prison where he worked. Belts were found underneath the vehicle, indicating he was restrained by them. The leak was “obviously prepared in advance,” said Mark Rowley.
Daniel Khalife is charged with offenses that took place at a Royal Air Force base in Straford, central England, in January and August 2021. He is accused of obtaining or attempting to obtain information “about a person who was or was a member of the British Army” “which was likely to be used by a person committing or preparing a terrorist attack.” He also faces criminal charges for making a false bomb threat on January 2nd. He was discharged from the army in May. He denies the allegations made against him.