A manhunt for an escaped terror suspect is ongoing - here's what we know so far about Daniel Khalife

A major police hunt for a 21-year-old terror suspect on the run after escaping prison is entering its second day.

Daniel Abed Khalife was wearing a chef's outfit when he escaped from HMP Wandsworth by clinging to the bottom of a delivery van on Wednesday.

It has sparked country-wide outrage, with both the government and prison staff under fire about how this could have been allowed to happen.

Here is what we know so far about the former serviceman.

Daniel Khalife's background

The 21-year-old has links to the north-west of England and Kingston, London - though the manhunt is covering the entirety of the UK.

He was previously stationed at the Ministry of Defence’s Beacon Barracks in Stafford.

The barracks are home to the Royal Corps of Signals 1st Signal Brigade, the Defence Electronics Agency, the RAF Joint Helicopter Command’s Tactical Supply Wing and No 22 Group air force cadets.

According to the Telegraph, he described his role on social media as being a computer specialist with skills including information technology and system administration.

Why was he arrested?

Khalife had initially been arrested in January 2022 on suspicion of a separate offence but was bailed.

However, he was re-arrested following an investigation by Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command, and the Ministry of Defence confirmed he was discharged from the Army in May 2023.

He appeared at the Old Bailey in late July where he denied the charges he is facing.

The ex-soldier is accused of gathering information for Iran.

He allegedly elicited or tried to elicit information that could be useful for a terrorist on August 2, 2021, and breached the Official Secrets Act by gathering information that could be useful to an enemy between May 1, 2019 and January 6, 2022.

He is also charged with terror offences relating to an alleged bomb hoax at the RAF base.

It is claimed he placed "three cannisters with wires on a desk in his accommodation" with the intention of inducing in another a belief this was "likely to explode or ignite and thereby cause personal injury or damage to property".

During a court hearing earlier this year, a prosecutor told Westminster Magistrates Court he had disappeared from the barracks after the alleged bomb hoax and there had been "active efforts to look for him".

He was arrested a few weeks later “in or near his car” and has been remanded into custody ever since.

Khalife is due to face a six-week trial at Woolwich Crown Court on November 13.

How did he escape on Wednesday?

He is thought to have snuck out of the kitchen and used straps to cling onto the bottom of a delivery van to make his escape around 7.50am.

The jail was put on lockdown after Khalife fled though there are some reports his escape wasn't reported to the police until an hour later.

The Times reported there was a delay of around an hour between prison officials noticing he was missing and first contact being made with the police.

He was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown steel-toe-cap boots, the Metropolitan Police said, adding he is of slim build and 6ft 2in with short brown hair.

Why was he imprisoned at HMP Wandsworth?

Questions have been raised over detaining a terror suspect a category B prison like Khalife in Wandsworth, as opposed to a higher security prison in category A, like Belmarsh Prison.

According to reports, he was initially held at Belmarsh, in southeast London.

But he was later transferred to Wandsworth, despite the fact those facing terror-related charges are usually detained at category A prisons.

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has held an urgent call with the prison governor and senior staff in the prison service to seek assurances about what is being done to ensure the jail is secure.

But Cabinet minister Michelle Donelan has said there are questions to answer over this.

Speaking to Times Radio on Thursday, she said that her understanding was that it was not “black and white” whether a terror suspect should be held in a category A prison.

"So it’s my understanding it’s not as black and white about that as that,” she said.

"So there is a an investigation checking that he was in the correct facility.

"It’s not as black and white, is my understanding, as to what category somebody under arrest for that those types of crimes should be in."

A former head of security at Wandsworth Prison said Khalife’s escape was “at best” a “catastrophic system failure”.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Thursday, Professor Ian Acheson said: “Well, at best, this is a catastrophic system failure that actually starts with the allocation of Khalife to Wandsworth and ends with a terror suspect working in a prison kitchen of an establishment in crisis (and) escaping in a vehicle.

“So it’s incredibly embarrassing for the prison service but it’s not entirely surprising given what we know about what’s going on Wandsworth at the moment.”

But the local MP for the area, Labour's Rosena Allin-Khan, has compiled some data and said that there was a day in December in which one third of prison shifts at Wandsworth Prison were not filled.

What happens now?

Two urgent reviews will also take place regarding the categorisation and placement of all HMP Wandsworth prisoners and all those in custody charged with terrorism offences, Mr Chalk told MPs on Thursday.

Ports and airports in the UK have been sent a red alert, meaning additional security measures and extra checks are in place.

Police have issued an urgent appeal to the public to help trace Khalife, but if seen, people should not approach him.

Commander Dominic Murphy, the head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command said the team is making "extensive and urgent enquiries" to locate and detain Khalife "as quickly as possible".

He added: "However, the public can help us as well and should anyone see Khalife, or have any information as to where he might be, then please call 999 or the immediately.

"I also want to reassure the public that we have no information which indicates, nor any reason to believe that Khalife poses a threat to the wider public, but our advice if you do see him is not to approach him and call 999 straight away."

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