A former British soldier who leaked secrets to Iran and then went on the run after staging an audacious prison break has been jailed for more than 13 years.
Daniel Khalife, 23, strapped himself to the underside of a food truck and used a pair of kitchen trousers as a makeshift sling to break free from HMP Wandsworth.
The incident triggered a major security alert, as hundreds of police officers, helicopters, and dog teams were drafted in for the manhunt.
Khalife lasted more than three days on the run before he was recaptured by police as he wandered along a canal towpath.
At the time of the prison break, Khalife was in prison on remand on espionage charges after he was caught leaking confidential information to spy handlers in Iran.
He had set up secret ties to the Middle Eastern state, with communication lasting more than two years, after learning that he was unlikely to fulfill his dream of becoming a top level British agent.
At Woolwich crown court on Monday, Khalife was sentenced by Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb to 13 years and three months in prison with an extra year on licence after release, branding him an “attention seeker“ and a “dangerous fool“.
She said his decision to sign up to the Army at a young age should be “admired“, he had then signed an oath of allegiance to the UK, and had shown signs of being a talented recruit.
“What a shame, then, that starting in May 2019, shortly after completing basic training and joining the Royal Corps of Signals, you spent more than two years in contact with agents of Iran, a country whose interests don’t align with, and at times threaten, those of the UK“, she said.
“You were motivated by a personal grievance to betray your colleagues and superiors.“
The judge added that because records have been deleted, it is not possible to know the full extent of information Khalife leaked to Iran.
“You embarked on the course of conduct I have described because of a selfish desire to show off, to achieve by unregulated means what you were told will be difficult for you to achieve by conventional promotion“, she said.
“The mere fact that you started on this dangerous and fantastical plan demonstrates your immaturity and lack of wisdom, that you thought it was appropriate to insert yourself – an unauthorised, unqualified and uninformed junior soldier into communication with an enemy state is perhaps the clearest indication of the degree of folly in your failure to understand at the most obvious level the risk you posed.”
And turning to the prison break, the judge concluded: “You did it because you thought you could. You later boasted that as a soldier you are trained to escape. You were facing trial on grave charges for which you had no real defence.“
She said Khalife had told a psychologist that he “didn’t ever want to be just a number“, and called him an “attention seeker who enjoyed the notoriety you attracted following your escape from prison“.
Khalife, wearing a dark coloured sweater and cream trousers, was flanked by three guards in the dock during his sentencing.
The court was told Khalife has been diagnosed with an anti-social personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder, and he boasted to a psychologist shortly after his prison escape: “I am different. I don’t belong in any group.“
He now says he accepts his actions were “naive and ill-informed“ while the prison break was “selfish“.
He also apologised for using his Army training to break out of prison, and he declared to a probation officer: “I am not going to let what happened define me.“
Khalife’s jail break made international headlines after he managed to evade guards at the prison to taste freedom and go on the run on September 6, 2023.
While on remand, he was given a job in the prison kitchen and footage played at his trial showed the moments leading up to the escape.
Khalife left his cell in the morning and headed to the kitchen to begin his daily duties. Later the same day, a headcount by guards revealed that he had escaped.
Balazs Werner was the driver of a Bidfood truck which made a stop at the prison, and he told the court of his surprise at being allowed to leave.
He had overheard guards saying that someone was missing, while he noticed that some of the kitchen doors were open.
But he was waved clear after a rudimentary security check, with Khalife clinging to the underside of the vehicle.
A driver who was behind the van saw a man in a white T-shirt “drop to the ground and then do a kind of pencil roll” when the vehicle stopped at traffic lights.
“When the male got to his feet, I can remember him flicking his fringe back and behaving very calmly”, she said.
Khalife went to Mountain Warehouse the same day and was caught on camera stealing a hat. The following day, he was brazenly shopping in M&S in Kew and Sainsbury’s in Hammersmith, while police later collected footage of him drinking a coffee in McDonald’s.
Khalife’s time on the run ended on a canal towpath near to Richmond Bridge on September 9, when a plain clothes police officer recognised the escaped prisoner and tackled him to the ground.
"He congratulated me on catching him”, said the officer, describing Khalife as "jovial".
Khalife had gained access to cash while on the run, buying a phone which he used to contact his handlers in Iran.
While serving in the Army, Khalife had been posted to the Royal Corps of Signals.
The court heard evidence of lax security behaviour within the Army, including widespread use of WhatsApp and personal phones.
Khalife was part of a WhatsApp group which received a spreadsheet of promotions for officers in the Special Forces, and he used his military access to research the full names.
Prosecutor Mark Heywood KC said there was a "clear risk to those individuals who may have been identified, or those connected with them", telling the court the information "would be highly valuable to a terrorist".
While on a joint operation between British and US forces in Texas in 2021, he contacted his Iranian handlers to report his location.
He also took photos on his phone of passwords, a floppy disk and a USB stick used to access sensitive military communications systems during the trip to Texas.
During the trial, Khalife faced an allegation that his spying activities had endangered the life of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British woman who was unjustly imprisoned in Iran. Khalife sent a fake intelligence document suggesting the British Government was not willing to negotiate over her release.
Khalife’s barrister, Gul Nawaz Hussain KC, argued there was no evidence that letter had actually been sent, and it only contained information that was already in the public domain.
In January 2022, fake documents purporting to be from MPs, senior military officials and the security services were found in Khalife’s Army room.
He tried to defend his actions, saying he had wanted to be a useful assess to the UK and was attempting to become an agent undercover within Iranian intelligence.
The court heard Khalife had contacted MI6 to reveal his ploy, but did not receive a response. After two years of contact with the Iranians, he told all to MI5 – apparently hoping to legitimise his efforts – but the agency alerted counter-terrorism police.
Khalife, releasing he was about to face criminal charges, went on the run from his Army barracks in January 2023, leaving behind a crude device which was made to look like an improvised explosive but was obviously fake.
He also left behind a note which set out his options were "suicide or absconding", and suggesting he was planning to start a new life in Iran.
In January 2017, Khalife was caught shoplifting at John Lewis and Bentalls in Kingston, when aged 15. In September 2023, after his prison break, he told a psychologist: "There was not a lot of money (at home). I was good at it. I used to steal it like I owned it. Mostly food.
"But one of my friends got caught, so I got caught. I had to do this one-day course and the guy (the course facilitator) loved me.
"I was not like the others. I am different. I don’t belong in any group."
Khalife’s prison break led to an audit of the troubled HMP Wandsworth, where 81 points of failure were identified.
CCTV cameras had not worked for more than a year, prison staff were overwhelmed and unable to account for inmates, the jail had been starved of resources, and drugs and contraband were rife among prisoners.
The Ministry of Justice responded with a £100 million injection of funds for “urgent improvements”.
Hundreds of police officers were drafted in to help the manhunt for Khalife, at a cost of more than £250,000 in overtime, while airports and ports were put on high alert.
Khalife suggested during his trial that he had staged a fake prison break attempt earlier in his spell behind bars, while hoping to be moved away from violent prisoners. But he said it failed as no one reported him.
He told jurors he had concluded a real prison break was the only way to ensure he was placed into a secure unit when transferred to HMP Belmarsh.
Mr Hussain called Khalife “hapless” and branded the spying plot more “Scooby-Doo” than “007”.
He said Khalife has now begun to accept responsibility for his actions.
“He still denies any intention to cause harm or the potential for harm“, he said. “He believes his plan was naive and ill-informed.
“He accepts his behaviour represents a breach of those laws intended to safeguard matters of State security.
“On the escape, Mr Khalife states he regrets his decision and the selfishness he demonstrated.“
Reading from a statement from Khalife, Mr Hussain said: “I was one of 1900 prisoners. They all struggle. What made me special? I was wrong to utilise my Army training to escape.“
A probation officer assessed that Khalife may have had an “elevated self-confidence“ which led him to believe his plan with the Iranians would work.
“He had a distorted perception his actions were justified and even valuable to others“, she wrote.
Khalife pleaded guilty during his trial to escaping lawful custody. He denied but was found guilty by a jury of offences under the Official Secrets Act and the Terrorism Act.
He was ordered to pay £10,000 towards the costs of the case against him.
