HMP Wandsworth has found itself under the spotlight after a national manhunt was launched for an escaped terror suspect.
Daniel Abed Khalife, a 21-year-old soldier with the Royal Corps of Signals was being held on remand at the Category B prison after he was accused of planting fake bombs at a military base in the West Midlands, and other charges relating to the Official Secrets Act.
Security was tightened at airports and other international departure points on Wednesday, after Khalife – who worked in the prison’s kitchen – outwitted the guards as he fled the south London jail in his cook’s uniform at 7.50am.
HMP Wandsworth is one of the country’s most overcrowded prisons— (Yui Mok/PA)
Describing the escape as “at best” a “catastrophic system failure”, the prison’s former security chief said the “incredibly embarrasing” security breach was “not entirely surprising given what we know about what’s going on Wandsworth at the moment”.
“I’m afraid to say that Wandsworth, like so many of our flagship prisons, is in freefall,” Professor Ian Acheson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Thursday.
“You’ve only got to look at the most recent inspections and other monitoring reports that reveal it’s filthy, it’s vermin-infested,” he continued. “On any day 30 to 44 per cent of frontline staff are unavailable to work. Morale is awful. I mean, frankly, if you cannot even manage to get the bins emptied in a place like Wandsworth what else is going wrong?”
The Victorian-era jail was branded a “crumbling, overcrowded, vermin-infested” facility by HM chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor after his most recent inspection in September 2021.
Daniel Abed Khalife escaped HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday— (Sourced)
Wandsworth was one of the most overcrowded prisons in England and Wales – with nearly three-quarters of the 1,364 prisoners in September sharing cells designed for one person, inspectors said.
Inspectors warned “there were not enough staff to make sure prisoners received even the most basic regime”, with one group of inmates described as walking “blinking into the sunlight” after spending more than a week indoors.
Why was Khalife in HMP Wandsworth?
Khalife appeared at the Old Bailey in late July, where he denied the three charges he is facing.
He is accused of obtaining personal information from the Ministry of Defence’s database about members of the Armed Forces on 2 August 2021, likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing a terrorist act.
Between May 2019 and January 2022, Khalife is accused of obtaining, collecting, recording, publishing or communicating information which could be useful to an enemy, in breach of the Official Secrets Act.
Britain Prisoner Escapes— (Metropolitan Police/AP)
Finally, in January, the 21-year-old is alleged to have planted a fake bomb at his barracks in the West Midlands, from which he went missing for 24 days before being arrested.
He was sent to Wandsworth after being denied bail over fears he could leave the country ahead of a trial scheduled for 13 November.
What category is Wandsworth Prison?
Questions have been raised about why Khalife was placed in Wandsworth – which is a Category B prison - as opposed to a Category A prison such as HMP Belmarsh in south-east London, which is customary for those facing such serious charges.
The government’s science minister Michelle Donelan said an investigation had been launched into his detention at the lower-security prison, but told Times Radio that her understanding was that it was not “black and white” whether a terror suspect should be held in a category A prison.
Asked whether Khalife had not been held in Belmarsh because it was full, Ms Donelan said it was “no secret” that prison capacity was an issue.
Category A prisons are the highest-security prisons which house prisoners who, if they were to escape, pose the greatest threat to the public, police or national security, according to the Ministry of Justice, which describes Category B jails as “either local or training prisons”.
“Local prisons house prisoners that are taken directly from court in the local area (sentenced or on remand), and training prisons hold long-term and high-security prisoners,” the ministry’s website states.
‘Incredibly overcrowded’ Wandsworth Prison was under pressure for ‘very long time’ before Daniel Khalife’s escape.— (Sky News screengrab)
Where is Wandsworth Prison?
HMP Wandsworth was originally known as the Surrey House of Correction when it was built in 1851, making it one of the oldest prisons in the country.
It is located in the southwest London borough of Wandsworth, and sits next to a railway line, an A-road. It sits alongside Wandsworth Common, a tennis club, pub and is situated within 500 metres of numerous nurseries and primary schools.
Police have said that Khalife has links to the Kingston area, which has a rail link to Wandsworth and sits some six miles away.
Which notable inmates are there?
Wandsworth has housed various notorious inmates in its 172-year history.
Most recently, tennis star Boris Becker was housed at the prison – less than two miles from Wimbledon where he cemented his fame aged 17 in 1985 – after he was convicted for breaking the terms of his bankruptcy by hiding assets.
Paedophile glam rock singer Gary Glitter also reportedly spent a month at the jail as he served his 16-year sentence for sex crimes against three schoolgirls, before being released from prison in February just eight years after his conviction.
Julian Assange is now in Belmarsh prison in south-east London— (PA)
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has also been held in Wandsworth at various points in his legal travails, as was David Chaytor, the Labour MP jailed for 18 months in 2011 after admitting claiming false parliamentary expenses.
Infamous London gangster Ronnie Kray was sentenced to three years at Wandsworth in 1956, while notorious prisoner Charles Bronson also served time at the prison, where he allegedly attempted to poison the prisoner in the adjacent cell.
Has anyone escaped before?
There have been numerous escapes from Wandsworth over the years, most recently in 2019.
That incident saw Stephen Forde, a gas engineer jailed for six weeks after admitting breaching a restraining order, wrongly released by prison staff just six days into his sentence. Forde reportedly took his daughter on a week-long holiday but was arrested by Essex Police upon his return to Britain.
Four years prior, fraudster Neil Moore tricked wardens into releasing him by posting a letter purporting to be from the court service.
Another incident in 2003 carries vague similarities to Khalife’s escape – that of Eamon Donaghue, an inmate convicted for attacking a police officer with a stolen car, who walked out of the jail wearing a prison officer’s uniform he had discovered while cleaning the officers’ mess hall.
But perhaps the most infamous flight from Wandsworth was the escape of Great Train Robber Ronnie Briggs, who cut short a 30-year sentence when he broke out in 1965, remaining on the run until 2001.
