A former British soldier went to Marks & Spencer and McDonald’s while he was on the run after escaping from Wandsworth prison, a court has heard.
Daniel Khalife, 23, was being held on remand accused of passing secrets to Iran, when he allegedly used a makeshift sling made of knotted bedsheets to cling on to the underside of a food delivery lorry while he was on kitchen duty.
He was discovered to be missing from the Category B prison, in southwest London, during a routine headcount on the morning of 6 September last year, sparking a nationwide manhunt, Woolwich Crown Court heard.
Khalife had already made his getaway when the white Mercedes sprinter van was stopped on Upper Richmond Road, the jury was told.
Prosecutor Mark Heywood KC said when the driver was asked if he recognised a photo of Khalife he said: “That’s the guy who was supposed to help me but he didn’t show up.”
“He clearly did show up, he just didn’t reveal himself. He got under the vehicle, then out of the prison,” said Mr Heywood.
He said Khalife had “used his trusted role in the kitchen” to make his escape when the Bidfood delivery lorry came to the rear of the kitchen.
“Clearly some attention had been spent on this in advance and some expense spent to achieve it,” he added.
CCTV sightings on the day of his escape show Khalife near the White Cross pub in Richmond carrying a Waitrose bag and in Mountain Warehouse, where he is believed to have bought a sleeping bag, the court heard.
The following day he bought a Samsung mobile phone for £89 from the Gift Shop, in Hammersmith, west London, the jury was told.
He was also allegedly seen in M&S in Kew Retail Park, a branch of Sainsbury’s in Richmond, and in Chiswick, with a hat pulled down and a mask covering his nose and mouth.
On 9 September, he was seen in McDonald’s before he was arrested on the footpath of the Grand Union Canal, in Northolt, later that morning, Mr Heywood said.
The court heard he told police: “I don’t know how immigrants do it,” which the prosecutor said was “presumably a reference to being slung under a lorry”.
Inside the Waitrose bag he was carrying were receipts and handwritten notes, a sleeping bag, a water bottle, a charger and a baseball cap, it was said.
Khalife was being held on remand over allegations he collected and shared sensitive information, including details of SAS soldiers, with Iranian intelligence agents between May 2019 and January 2022.
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The contact is said to have started soon after he joined the army just before his 17th birthday, while months into his first post with the Royal Signals, based at Beacon Barracks, in Stafford, he offered to stay in the military for more than 25 years and do what they asked.
Khalife contacted MI6 saying he wanted to be a “double agent”, later telling police he wanted to be a “triple agent”.
The court heard he picked up £1,500 in a dog poo bag from Mill Hill park in Barnet, north London, in August 2019, making a second £1,000 cash collection from Kensal Green Cemetery, in North Kensington, in October 2021.
Prosecutor Mark Haywood KC said Khalife flew to Istanbul, where he stayed in the Hilton hotel between 4 and 10 August 2020, having originally planned to go on to Iran, and “delivered a package” for Iranian agents.
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He was later told by a handler: “We’ll pay you what you want in our country. We look forward to seeing you in Tehran pal.”
The court heard Khalife was deployed to Fort Hood in Texas between 3 February and 30 April 2021, where he was given “NATO Secret” clearance, the second highest level below “Cosmic Top Secret”.
Mr Heywood said he remained in contact with his Iranian handlers even while he was in the US, where it appeared to escalate, and continued on his return to the UK as he gathered more information.
This is said to have included a handwritten list of 15 soldiers, including some serving in the Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS).
Khalife was arrested and released on bail but fled from his barracks on 2 January 2022, leaving canisters and wires on the desk of his room, to look like an explosive device, the court heard.
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Until he was arrested again three weeks later, he was living in a stolen Ford Transit van, later found containing a camp bed, around £18,000 in real and counterfeit cash, sim cards, a notebook and a mobile phone.
Mr Heywood said there is evidence that after his first arrest, Khalife’s “intention was to leave this country if the Iranians were willing to assist it”.
“The man we’re dealing with isn’t merely a young and junior soldier, he’s a resourceful man,” he said.
“So by the time he found the net closing about him he absconded from his barracks, set himself up with a means to survive and even when remanded in custody managed to free himself.”
Khalife, from Kingston, southwest London, denies a charge of committing an act prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state under the Official Secrets Act between 1 May 2019 and 6 January 2022.
He has also pleaded not guilty to a charge under the Terrorism Act of eliciting information about armed forces personnel on 2 August 2021, perpetrating a bomb hoax on or before 2 January 2023 and escaping from prison on 6 September last year.
The trial continues.
