‘Dangerous fool’ Daniel Khalife could have been ‘exemplary soldier’ says judge

Former soldier Daniel Khalife has been branded a “dangerous fool” by a judge imprisoning him for more than 14 years for escaping from prison and spying for Iran.

The judge described how Khalife had initially shown immense promise in the Army, including winning a young soldier of the year award in 2019.

In a jailbreak that drew intense nationwide attention and sparked a major manhunt, Khalife, 23, escaped from category B prison HMP Wandsworth in south-west London by clinging to the underside of a food delivery truck in September 2023.

He was caught on a canal towpath by a plainclothes detective days later.