Daniel Khalife – live: Suspect used bed sheets to strap himself to van in Wandsworth prison escape, court hears

Daniel Abed Khalife appears before Westminster Magistrates’ Court charged with escaping from prison

Escaped terror suspect Daniel Khalife arrested in west London

Daniel Khalife used a material that may have been from “bed sheets” to strap himself to the underside of a van when he escaped from prison last week, a court has heard.

Khalife appeared before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday after being captured and charged with escaping from prison. He was remanded in custody.

The suspected terrorist was arrested on a canal towpath in west London at 10.41am on Saturday after being pulled off a push bike by a plain-clothes counter-terrorism officer.

His detention brought a dramatic end to a 75-hour nationwide land and air manhunt after Khalife went missing from the prison on Wednesday.

Prior to his alleged escape, Khalife was on remand at HMP Wandsworth after being charged with terror offences in January.

The incident has highlighted inadequacies in the condition of the facility, with the chief inspector of prisons calling for it to be shut down.

Key Points

• Terror suspect used ‘bed sheets’ to strap himself to van
• Khalife arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court
• Daniel Abed Khalife charged by police after escaping Wandsworth prison
• Inmate stabbed at Wandsworth jail days after Daniel Khalife escape
• Khalife ‘had help’ to escape, says former prisons minister
• HMP Wandsworth had correct security protocols, suggests Justice Secretary

[11 September 2023 06:30 · Namita Singh]

Timeline of Daniel Khalife’s escape and eventual arrest

Terror suspect Daniel Khalife was arrested on the fourth day of a manhunt after he escaped from HMP Wandsworth underneath a lorry.

The 21-year-old was arrested just before 11am on Saturday in Chiswick, west London, and is now in police custody, the force said.

Officers descended on Chiswick with police dogs in tow after “intelligence-led activity” and confirmed sightings from members of the public in the area overnight.

Rishi Sunak said he is “very pleased” Khalife has been arrested as he praised efforts by the police and the public in finding him.

Here is a timeline of the events leading to the capture of Khalife:

[11 September 2023 07:00 · Namita Singh]

Daniel Khalife’s escape follows a rich – and troubled – history of prison breaks

Prison breaks summon up conflicting feelings. At first, there is deep concern, a justifiable worry that an often-violent criminal is now on the loose.

But then – as details of the escape emerge – there is a reluctant admiration for the man on the run and a thrill engendered not only by his resourcefulness but also of course by the chase.

Hollywood knows this conflict all too well, which is why prison break movies invariably feature the wrongly imprisoned, in order to make our enjoyment of the escape more morally comfortable, writes historian Guy Walters:

[11 September 2023 08:21 · Maryam Zakir-Hussain]

Daniel Khalife due to appear in court charged with escaping from custody

Daniel Khalife is due to appear in court charged with escaping from custody at HMP Wandsworth.

The 21-year-old former soldier was arrested on a canal towpath in west London at 10.41am on Saturday after being pulled off a bike by a plainclothes counter-terrorism officer.

His capture followed a mass land and air search over four days after he went missing from the prison on Wednesday.

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.

Police checked gardens, stopped and inspected cars and asked residents for their IDs throughout Saturday morning.

Khalife was eventually found on a canal towpath in Northolt, west London, around eight miles from where he was last seen by a member of the public.

He was on remand at HMP Wandsworth after being charged with terror offences in January.

He will face Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

[11 September 2023 08:45 · Matt Mathers]

Recap: who is Daniel Abed Khalife

Daniel Abed Khalife was captured by police in a dramatic arrest along a canal towpath in northwest London over the weekend

As we’ve been reporting, he’s due to appear in court later today charged with escaping from Wandsworth Prison in south London.

But who is he and why was he in jail in the first place? Holly Evans and Andy Gregory report:

[11 September 2023 09:05 · Matt Mathers]

54 prisoners released in error last year

Officials are carrying out investigations trying to establish how Khalife was able to escape from Wandsworth Prison.

Security sources have told The Independent that it is “almost certain” he had inside help after strapping himself to the bottom of a food delivery truck to escape.

The number of people who manage to escape from prison is low, although jailbreaks are not unheard of. Prisoners are also sometimes “released in error.”

This means they are wrongly discharged from prison or court when they should have remained in custody, where the prisoner has not deliberately played a part in the error - i.e. the prisoner had no intent of escaping.

Examples include misplaced warrants for imprisonment or remand, recall notices not acted upon, sentence miscalculation or discharging the wrong person on escort.

Last year 54 prisoners were released in error, according to Ministry of Justice figures. The map below shows where these errors took place and how many there were from each prison.

View more

[11 September 2023 09:43 · Matt Mathers]

Inmate stabbed at HMP Wandsworth, Met Police says

An inmate has been stabbed at HMP Wandsworth days after Daniel Khalife’s escape, the Metropolitan Police has said.

Police were called at around 3.20pm on Sunday to reports that an inmate had been assaulted inside the prison.

Jacob Phillips reports:

[11 September 2023 10:06 · Matt Mathers]

Khalife arrives at court

Khalife has arrived at court ahead of his appearance in front of Westminster Magistratess’ on Monday morning.

A prison van carrying the suspected terrorist was seen arriving at the court in central London earlier today.

The heavily armoured vehicle was accompanied by three black unmarked police car driving in convoy.

(Sky News)

The officers appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (PA) (PA Archive)

[11 September 2023 10:47 · Matt Mathers]

Breaking: Khalife used ‘bed sheets’ to strap himself to van

Daniel Khalife used a material that may have been from “bed sheets” to strap himself to the underside of a van when he escaped from prison last week, a court has heard.

Khalife appeared before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday after being captured and charged with escaping from prison.

He was remanded in custody.

Full report:

[11 September 2023 11:04 · Matt Mathers]

Recap: Timeline of Khalife’s escape from Wandsworth Prison and eventual arrest

Khalife has been remanded in custody after appearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court charged with escaping from prison.

Below is a timeline of his jailbreak and the hunt to find him:

[11 September 2023 11:27 · Matt Mathers]

Hunt flagged ‘extremely worrying’ conditions at Wandsworth months ago - report

Jeremy Hunt raised concerns about the “extremely worrying” conditions and staff shortages at Wandsworth prison as far back as April, it has been reported.

The chancellor wrote to the prison’s governor Katie Price in April but did not get a reply, prompting him to flag the issue with Damian Hinds, the prisons minister in June.

He didn’t get a response until last month, according to The Daily Telegraph. Mr Hunt was alerted to the alleged conditions by a constituent who had been held on remand at Wandsworth for eight months.

(PA Wire)