Terrorist suspect who escaped from UK prison arrested

Soldier Daniel Khalife, the terror suspect who escaped from a London prison, has been captured by police after a nationwide manhunt.

"London police arrested Daniel Khalife at just before 11am in the Chiswick area of west London and he is currently in custody," the British capital's police announced on social network X on September 9.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who is in India for the G20 summit, told British media he was "very pleased with the news". "I would like to thank the police officers for their fantastic work over the last few days," he said.

Khalife, 21, disappeared from Wandsworth Prison, south-west London, shortly after 8am on 6 September while working in the kitchen, possibly by clinging to a delivery van. Khalife, a British soldier, was arrested after planting a fake bomb near a military base and is in custody awaiting trial on terrorism-related charges and breaching the Officials' Secrets Act.

Daniel Abed Khalife. Photo: London Police

Police have launched a nationwide manhunt for Khalife. Security checks have also been stepped up at ports and airports amid fears he may flee the country.

After appearances in south-west London, Khalife was finally arrested by plainclothes police in Chiswick while cycling along a canal.

"It was around 75 hours from the time he disappeared from the prison to his arrest. The search was difficult, until we carried out an intelligence-led search in the Richmond area. We also received a number of calls from the public with information about the suspect," Metropolitan Police Commander Dominic Murphy told reporters.

Khalife's trial is scheduled to begin on November 13.

Wandsworth is a Category B prison, the second highest of four security levels. It is one of the largest prisons in the UK, holding more than 1,600 inmates. Terrorist suspects and criminals are often held in Category A facilities, the highest level.

John Podmore, a former governor of two London prisons, said Khalife may have had an “inside job” to help him escape and that Khalife should have been held at nearby Belmarsh, a category A prison. “I don’t understand why he wasn’t in Belmarsh,” Podmore said.

Huyen Le (According to AFP )

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