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Daniel Khalife, a former soldier who escaped from prison last year, has denied asking Iranian agents for help after his escape from HMP Wandsworth. The 23-year-old said the country’s security services wanted to help him, but he “closed the conversation”. Khalife escaped from the prison in south-west London in 2023 by clinging to the underside of a food truck using a makeshift sling.
On his third day of being on the run, he sent a now deleted Telegram message to an Iranian contact and later sent another which said simply: “I wait.” When asked why he sent the message, he replied, “the night before I didn’t sleep… It’s literally out of curiosity, I wanted to see what the reaction was”. Prosecutors allege that he was waiting in the Chiswick area of west London for the Iranian security services, but no help ever came.
Khalife pleaded guilty to escaping from HMP Wandsworth, but denies charges linked to the Official Secrets Act and Terrorism Act, as well as a bomb hoax charge. Previously, he told jurors that he escaped from prison so he would be kept in a high security unit away from “sex offenders” and “terrorists” who wanted to harm him. He was captured by police whilst riding a bicycle on a canal towpath in west London.
The day after Khalife escaped, he bought a mobile phone for £89 from a shop in Hammersmith. While on the run, he also purchased clothes from Marks & Spencer and a coffee from McDonald’s, and traveled along the River Thames before being apprehended by police three days later. He stole a hat from a Mountain Warehouse store and began using a bicycle he found.
Khalife’s trial continues, though he denies a number of the charges against him. The former soldier’s claims paint a picture of a man who acted out of fear and desire to protect himself rather than for any other nefarious motivation. The case highlights the vulnerability of incarcerated individuals who have been released into the community before undergoing a full decompression process, as Khalife was seen to suffer both socially and psychologically during his time in prison
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