LONDON: UK police have successfully arrested a suspect accused of “terror offences” who had escaped from a London prison earlier this week, triggering a nationwide manhunt. The Metropolitan Police confirmed the arrest of Daniel Khalife in the Chiswick area just before 11 am local time on Saturday. He is currently in police custody.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is attending the G20 summit in India, expressed his satisfaction with the news, thanking the police officers for their exceptional work over the past few days.
Khalife, a 21-year-old former soldier, had escaped from Wandsworth prison in south London on Wednesday, possibly by clinging to the bottom of a delivery van. His disappearance had prompted a major search effort, with increased security checks implemented at ports and airports amid concerns that he might attempt to leave the country.
Following confirmed sightings in southwest London, Khalife was eventually captured in the Chiswick neighborhood on Saturday.
UK Police Investigation into Mysterious Escape
Metropolitan Police Commander Dominic Murphy stated that the investigation had taken a different course when an intelligence-led search in the Richmond area led to various sightings reported by the public. Khalife was arrested while riding a pedal bike along a canal towpath.
Khalife had last appeared in a London court on January 28 and was in custody for two incidents at the Royal Air Force base in Stafford, central England. He faced charges of attempting to obtain information useful for an act of terrorism in August 2021 and a bomb hoax by placing a suspect device at the RAF base on January 2 this year.
His trial at Woolwich Crown Court, attached to Belmarsh prison, was scheduled to commence on November 13.
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk announced earlier this week an independent investigation into the escape and ordered urgent reviews of the categorization and placement of all prisoners at Wandsworth prison and those in custody for terrorism-related offenses.
The escape from Wandsworth, a Category B prison, has raised questions, with former prison governor John Podmore suggesting it might have involved insider assistance and that Khalife should have been held at nearby Category A Belmarsh prison.
