Terror accused on the run after prison escape: London police

September 6, 2023 08:16 PM

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A serving member of the British Army awaiting trial on terrorism charges and for allegedly breaking the Official Secrets Act has escaped from prison, police said on Wednesday.

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, is thought to have absconded from Wandsworth prison in south London at about 7:50 am (0650 GMT).

He appeared in court in London on January 28 and was remanded in custody over two incidents at the Royal Air Force (RAF) base in Stafford, central England, near the army barracks where he lived.

Khalife is accused of "attempting to elicit information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism" in August 2021.

He was also charged with a bomb hoax by placing a suspect device at the RAF base on January 2 this year.

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement that he was likely to still be in the London area, although they did not rule out he had travelled outside the British capital.

They advised the public not to approach him and to call police immediately.

"We have no information which indicates, nor any reason to believe that Khalife poses a threat to the wider public," said Dominic Murphy, the head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command.