CHAOS was wreaked across Britain yesterday in the search for fugitive Daniel Khalife as motorways, ports, airports and train stations were engulfed in the search.
In a dramatic move, police arrested a man who appeared to be a fugitive terror suspect as he innocently waited on a platform.
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The search for escaped prisoner Daniel Khalife has caused chaos across Britain
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Police arrested a man who looked like a terror suspect as he waited on the platform
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One bystander, who stood on platform three at Banbury, said: ‘We saw a dozen policemen surrounding the guy on the bench’Credit: Alamy
Incredibly, passengers held up on the train were told: “We apologize for the delay, but the police are apprehending a suspected terrorist on the platform.”
One passenger said after his train pulled into platform three in Banbury, Oxfordshire: “We saw about ten police officers surrounding the guy on the bench. He looked a lot like the guy who got away.”
Last night a man tweeted that he had proved he was not Khalifa by scanning his fingerprint and was upgraded to first class as an apology.
He wrote: “After about 20 minutes of questions (and some gd banter) I proved I’m not a fugitive.”
Police yesterday released video of a food delivery truck heading towards HMP Wandsworth in south-west London, under which 22-year-old prisoner Khalifa strapped himself in to escape.
How the urgent investigation is ongoing:
- HUGE delays have been caused at Dover and on routes to the English Channel as officers fear he may have left the country;
- CLAIMS emerged he had previously tried to escape last month;
- PRISON experts suggested Khalifa may have had “inside” help;
- A FORMER guard has told LBC radio that notebooks with truck delivery deadlines were found in his cell.
It was claimed yesterday that Khalifa — charged with terrorism and official secrecy offenses — was allegedly working for Iran.
Experts said he should have been in the maximum-security Belmarsh prison in south-east London instead of the lower-category Wandsworth, where he got a great job in the kitchen.
He escaped by clinging to the bottom of the van at 7.30am on Wednesday while wearing garish red and white chef’s trousers.
The lorry from Slough-based Bidfood was to be inspected by wheel-mounted mirrors on entry and exit.
However, there were concerns last night that the prison was severely understaffed. Officers stopped the van just over an hour later two miles away in Putney, with the belt found underneath.
Police have since received reports of around 50 sightings of Khalife, a former soldier.
Met Police counter-terrorism commander Dominic Murphy said it was “unusual” that nothing had been confirmed in such a busy part of London, but it was “perhaps a testament to Khalife’s genius”.
Several sources told The Sun that Khalifa attempted a similar escape in the past month.
An insider said: “He had scratches on his arm but nothing was done.”
His disappearance on Wednesday was noticed shortly after 8am and the prison was locked down, with 1,500 inmates placed in cells.
Khalife, attached to the Royal Signal Engineers before his dismissal in May, has links to Kingston upon Thames, Surrey.
His twin sister studies chemistry at a prestigious university.
Khalife was due to stand trial at Woolwich Crown Court in November for allegedly planting fake bombs at an RAF base and collecting information that could be useful to terrorists.
Former prison warden John Podmore said he did not understand why he was not detained at Belmarsh.
Giving him a reliable job in the kitchen was also “pretty amazing”, he added.
Shadow justice secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “There is no doubt that the man who was arrested on suspicion of terrorism managed to escape by clinging to the bottom of a food delivery van.”
Khalifa is even said to have changed his work pattern to coincide with the arrival of the trucks.
Another insider added: “He wasn’t even supposed to work the day he left.
“Clearly the arrival of the van must have been his impetus.”
Justice Minister Alex Chalk announced an independent inquiry into the escape.
In the 2022/23 annual assessment of prison performance, Wandsworth was among nine rated as being of “serious concern”.
Sources say he fell below minimum staffing levels last week.
Former straggler Chris Atkins says 35 officers were on duty, far short of the required 55.
Now a campaigner for reform, he told The Sun that his inexperienced jailers were “rabbits in the spotlight — they would often have to ask me about the routine and the rules”.
Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor said “something has clearly gone wrong”, adding: “There are too many prisoners for the number of staff there.”
Local MP Rosena Allin-Khan claimed that only seven officers showed up for their shift in December.
She said: “Under these circumstances, mistakes like this are bound to happen.”
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Police have released video of a food delivery truck heading towards HMP Wandsworth in South West LondonCredit: Metropolitan Police
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Khalifa escaped from HMP Wandsworth
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It was claimed that Khalifa, 22, allegedly worked for Iran
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QUESTIONS PRISON HEADS MUST ANSWER
- Why was the suspected terror only put in the Bjail category and not locked up in high security Belmarsh?
- Why did he get a job in the prison kitchen, which is usually reserved for the most trusted lags?
- Why were basic checks not carried out on the delivery van and rear view mirrors not used to see underneath?
- Why didn’t the prison staff alert the authorities that he was missing for 45 minutes?
- Was the prison understaffed at the time and was that why the security was so poor?
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education