By Laura Gozzi & Sean Seddon
BBC News
There have been no confirmed sightings of Daniel Khalife in the near 36 hours since he escaped prison, police say.
A nationwide manhunt is under way for the 21-year-old ex-soldier, who is suspected of trying to spy for an enemy state, understood to be Iran.
He escaped HMP Wandsworth in south London by clinging to the bottom of a delivery van, after slipping out of the kitchen wearing his cooks uniform.
Extra security is in place at all UK airports and ports.
Cdr Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said it was a “little unusual and perhaps a testament to [Mr Khalife’s] ingenuity” that he has not been spotted, despite 50 calls from the public offering “valuable lines of inquiry”.
“It’s important that we remember we have some of the best military in the world here in the UK and he was a trained soldier,” he added.
“He has skills that perhaps some sections of the public don’t have and I am really keen that we are using everything in our means to find him.”
Cdr Murphy confirmed that the vehicle Mr Khalife is thought to have used to escape was stopped in nearby North Sheen, south-west London, less than an hour after he was declared missing, and strapping was found underneath.
Border security at ports and airports across the country has been tightened over fears he could flee overseas.
Mr Khalife was being detained at the category B prison while awaiting trial over terror and Official Secrets Act charges, including allegations he planted fake bombs at an Army base.
Despite the potential national security implications of his alleged offences, Mr Khalife was able to work in the kitchen of the prison, which has long-running problems with overcrowding and understaffing.
On Wednesday morning, he escaped from the prison in an incident which the justice secretary has described as a “grave security breach”.
At around 07:30 BST, Mr Khalife is believed to have used makeshift strapping to secure himself to the underside of a van which was then driven through the gates of the Victorian prison.
The 6ft 2ins terror suspect was wearing prison-issue red and white checked trousers, a white T-shirt and brown steel toe cap boots.
Cdr Murphy said on Thursday that it could not be ruled out that Mr Khalife had help escaping and has access to money, calling him a “very resourceful individual”.
He was declared missing at 08:15 BST and the van he is thought to have used to escape was stopped on Upper Richmond Road 32 minutes later.
Commercial catering firm Bidfood, which has a contract with the Ministry of Justice, confirmed one of their vehicles was involved and said their driver has “fully co-operated with the police”.
After realising Mr Khalife was missing, the prison was put into lockdown. The Metropolitan Police was called in and an alert was issued to every force and border point in the country.
At 15:30 BST, and with all leads having seemingly gone cold, the Met issued a public appeal urging anyone with information to come forward, warning that, while Mr Khalife is considered “low risk”, people should not approach him.
Counter-terror officers were deployed on the streets of London, where the search is focused. Mr Khalife is thought to have links with Kingston and the north-west of England.
Speaking around eight hours after the escape on Wednesday, Cdr Murphy said that the escapee “could be anywhere in the country” and may be trying to travel abroad.
Even before the Met went public, queues were building at airports and ports after Border Force staff were instructed to put tighter security measures in place.
Disruption continued disruption at the Port of Dover on Thursday. Kent Police confirmed junctions eight and nine of the M20 were temporarily shut due to the enhanced checks.
How did this happen?
Within hours of the escape, questions were being asked about why Mr Khalife was not being held in a high security prison and how he was able to slip through the net, which have continued today.
Justice secretary Alex Chalk held two rounds of talks with the Prisons and Probation Service, as well as the governor of Wandsworth, on Wednesday, and he ordered a formal investigation.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC that Wandsworth prison – which for the last few years has held 60-80% more prisoners than it was designed for – has long been known for its overcrowding and staffing issues.
She said Mr Khalife’s escape shows “there has been a failure”, adding: “Any government has to make sure national security is taken immensely seriously and ministers need to respond to warnings that are given to them.”
Mark Fairhurst, chairman of the Prison Officers’ Association (POA), said the union had been saying since 2010 that “cuts have consequences”.
John Podmore, who ran Belmarsh and Brixton prisons, told the BBC’s World at One programme that the possibility the escape was an inside job could not be ruled out.
He said Mr Khalife “should have been in Belmarsh” – a high security prison in south-east London – and that he “couldn’t understand” why he was not.
WATCH: How was a terror suspect allowed to escape?
Mr Chalk told the House of Commons on Thursday that Mr Khalife “will be found and he will be made to face justice”.
He said that “no stone must be left unturned in getting to the bottom of what happened,” and added that he wanted to know who was on duty on Wednesday morning “ranging from the kitchen to the prison gate”, and what protocols were in place.
He told MPs that he has ordered two urgent reviews into the categorisation and placement of all prisoners at Wandsworth, and all those in custody charged with terrorism offences.
What is Daniel Khalife accused of?
Mr Khalife joined the Army in 2019 and was based at MoD Stafford – also known as Beacon Barracks – when he disappeared on 2 January after an alleged bomb hoax.
A later court hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard he allegedly planted fake devices “with the intention of inducing in another the belief the item was likely to explode or ignite”.
The court also heard he allegedly “elicited” personal information about soldiers from the Ministry of Defence Joint Personnel Administration System which was “likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism” in 2021.
He was arrested “in or near his car” on 26 January after “active efforts to look for him”, a court heard. He was placed in Wandsworth two days later.
Mr Khalife was due to appear in court again on 13 November to stand trial in relation to terrorism and Official Secrets Act offences, including preparing an act of terrorism and collecting information useful to an enemy.
He denied the charges against him at the Old Bailey in July.
He has been discharged from the Army, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.
