British ex-soldier escapes from prison by clinging to the underside of a truck: “He spied for Iran” | Abroad

Khalife managed to escape from the kitchen of Wandsworth prison (south of London) on Wednesday morning. He is said to have clung to the underside of a truck delivering food. British police have now released a photo of the same truck. The precise route that the vehicle took has also been shared with British media.

The prison discovered Khalife was missing at 7:50 a.m. local time on Wednesday morning. By then the truck had been gone for about twenty minutes. Officers were able to stop and investigate the vehicle at 8:37 am. Then they found the material at the bottom with which he would have attached himself. According to the police, the driver of the truck and the food company are fully cooperating with the investigation.

London police are conducting a manhunt to track down 21-year-old Khalife. More than 150 officers are conducting the search in the capital. Since the alarm was raised, there have also been extra checks on highways and at ports and airports. This leads to the necessary delays. It is feared that the young man will try to flee abroad. At the time of his disappearance he was wearing his chef’s uniform, i.e. a white T-shirt, red and white checked trousers and brown boots with a steel toe.

Earlier on Thursday, someone who had physical similarities with Khalife was arrested in Banbury, but that turned out not to be him. Police say there have been no “confirmed sightings” of the fugitive.

The escape causes a lot of political outrage. Justice Minister Alex Chalk promised in the House of Commons to launch an independent investigation. “We will turn over every stone to find out exactly what happened,” he said.

Chalk also wants to review the prison regime for all terror suspects. Wandsworth Prison was placed into lockdown following the escape, as per procedure.

After the alarm was raised, the van was also stopped and searched by the police. “Daniel Khalife will be found and tried,” the minister promised. Opposition Labor party wonders how this could happen and points an accusing finger at the cuts and staff shortages in prisons.

On August 2, 2021, Khalife allegedly attempted to obtain information that could be used for terrorist purposes. In January of this year, there was another strange episode: he left three canisters of wires on a desk and led his colleagues at the military base in Stafford to believe that it was going to explode.

Khalife is also suspected of spying for Iran, the BBC now writes. He was discharged from the British army in May this year and was expected to appear in court in November. The young man himself denies all accusations.