Daniel Khalife has told a court 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.
The former soldier, 23, is alleged to have escaped from HMP Wandsworth by tying himself to the underside of a food delivery truck using bedsheets in September 2023.
Giving evidence on Friday, Khalife said he wanted to be upgraded from a category B to a category A prisoner so he would be kept in a special unit when moved to HMP Belmarsh for his trial.
Fellow inmates at HMP Wandsworth included “prolific sex offenders” and “terrorists” who wanted to harm him, and he was worried conditions at Belmarsh would be even worse, jurors were told.
After being taken to Wandsworth prison in January 2023, he was told he would be kept on a wing for vulnerable prisoners because there were “terrorist offenders” at Wandsworth who “want to kill you”, the court heard.
Khalife told jurors that “95%” of those in the unit were “serious sex offenders, rapists, paedophiles, that sort of thing”.
He said: “It was not a nice place to be… people on that wing said strange things to me.”
The former soldier told Woolwich Crown Court he was helped by a man in his unit to get a job in the prison stores.
Asked if he expected to have to return the favour, Khalife said: “I just thought he was trying to do me a favour.”
“He certainly wanted something,” he continued.
“This individual was a prolific sex offender, a homosexual one.”
Khalife told the court he was “terrified” of being kept in a similar situation at HMP Belmarsh should he be moved.
“I knew what Belmarsh was,” he said, adding: “I knew what type of clientele it had”.
The former soldier told jurors he wanted to be kept in the high security unit (HSU) – a prison-within-a-prison holding some of the country’s most dangerous criminals – where he believed he would be safer.
After a “show” escape was not reported to senior prison staff, Khalife decided breaking out of the prison was the only way to guarantee being kept in the high security unit, the court heard.
The former soldier told the court that before his successful escape, he “acted suspiciously” around the food delivery lorry and was spotted by kitchen staff.
But Khalife was “pretty shocked” when the matter was not escalated to senior prison officers, and he faced no consequences, the court heard.
He then decided escaping fully was his only option, the court heard.
Five days before his successful escape he attached a sling to the underside of the lorry made from “kitchen trousers” and carabiners, the court was told.
The sling “wasn’t spotted at Wandsworth gate or any other prison”, he said.
“When the tail lift raised it covered me entirely.
“If the makeshift sling wasn’t noticed, they’re hardly going to notice me,” he added.
“They did their normal checks… they didn’t find me.”
Khalife said he had “no intention” of leaving the country or to “run away from these charges.”
“I left, and I knew I would be classified as double category A.”
The former soldier said his escape had demonstrated “what a foolish idea it was to have someone of my skillset in prison”.
He added: “What use was it to anyone?
“I accept that I left the prison and I didn’t have any permission.
“I accept that I shouldn’t have done what I did.”
Khalife continued: “I am the antithesis of these charges.
“I was never a real spy.
“I would do anything to go back to my career (in the Army).”
Earlier on Friday, Khalife admitted making the device found in his room after he absconded in 2023, but denied wanting those who found it to believe it was a real bomb, jurors heard.
Prosecutors say Khalife prepared a bomb hoax to delay the search for him.
Khalife told jurors he came up with his elaborate double agent plot after watching the TV spy thriller Homeland on Netflix.
“I had seen one of the characters had falsely defected to a particular country and utilised this position,” he said.
A female character in the American series fakes a defection to Iran, the court heard.
The former soldier said he was “embarrassed” about the plot looking back now, and had been “amoral” when he thought it up.
“If I was a real spy it wouldn’t have been difficult to defect,” he said.
A note was left near the device, which said: “You can say with certainty that you will go to prison for a very long time. Your options are suicide or absconding.”
The note went on: “Once in Iran you can manage life again and travel to interesting places freely.”
Khalife told the court the note was intended to convince police to launch a major manhunt for him, which might convince Iran of his loyalty and allow him to continue working as a double agent.
“I wanted to continue to help our country,” he said.
After absconding from his barracks, Khalife lived in a van in the nearby town of Stone for 25 days, “trying not to freeze to death”, he said.
As well as the prison escape and bomb hoax, he also faces charges contrary to the Official Secrets Act and Terrorism Act.
He denies all the charges, and the trial will continue on November 11.
