08 September 2023 , 15:08
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Getaway prisoner Daniel Khalife has "already left on a plane," a former Metropolitan Police detective claimed today.
Peter Bleksley, a founder member of Scotland Yard's undercover unit in the 1980s, said the discovery of strapping underneath a lorry, to which Khalife is thought to have clung to flee HMP Wandsworth's grounds, is a crucial detail in the fugitive's whereabouts. Had this not come to light, Mr Bleksley would have considered the 21-year-old terror suspect to have been local to the Category B clink, and have been snagged by now - three days after he fled.
Daniel Khalife's escape from prison was 'clearly pre-planned,' experts said todayBut Mr Bleksley, who also appears in Channel 4's Hunted, said: "At first I was hoping he would be found on CCTV at two o’clock in the morning, scavenging a bit of Kentucky Fried Chicken out of a bin. But then they said about the straps. That says to me, this was planned. And that says outside help. It means they have a completely different job on their hands. It's undoubtedly possible that he's already left on a plane."
Speaking to Express.co.uk, the 63-year-old man, from Kent, said Khalife had "considerable degree of planning" with the operation because the strapping was discovered.
Justice Minister Alex Chalk confirmed to the House of Commons yesterday strapping was found. In his address, he insisted "no stone will be unturned" and Khalife, an IT expert, will be caught and face justice.
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It is feared Khalife has left the country despite ports, like the one at Dover, being on high alert this week (PA)But Mr Bleksley believes it shouldn't have got to this stage. The policing expert was surprised at how the suspect, born and raised in London, was held at a Category B prison in the first place. "So what the hell is he doing in a Category B prison? I really don’t know. He got a trusted job in the kitchen of a Category B prison. It’s almost beyond the comprehension of anyone who comes from a law enforcement background. It’s truly astonishing," Mr Bleksley continued.
He said it is likely Khalife will have changed his appearance in the three days in which he has been missing. He is accused of trying to spy for an enemy state, understood to be Iran, and plotting a fake bomb hoax.
Khalife joined the Army in 2019 and was based at MoD Stafford - also known as Beacon Barracks - when he disappeared on 2 January after the alleged bomb hoax. A later hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court heard he allegedly planted fake devices "with the intention of inducing in another the belief the item was likely to explode or ignite".
Khalife is accused of carrying out a hoax bomb attack on January 2, of this year, where he planted the fake bombs, three cannisters with wires protruding from them, at MOD Stafford military base. The BBC reported that in February, Westminster Magistrates' Court
He was based at Beacon Barracks, Beaconside, Stafford, and also allegedly elicited information about personnel within the forces that could be "useful" to a terrorist. He is accused of collecting the “articles, notes, documents, or information” between May 1, 2019 and January 6, 2022.
He was originally charged with two offences on January 27 following an investigation by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, and a third allegation of breaking the Official Secrets Act was added at his Old Baily appearance. Mr Justice Jeremy Baker remanded Khalife in custody until his trial.
Khalife was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown steel toe cap boots. He is of slim build, has short brown hair and is around 6ft 2ins tall. If seen, the public are advised not to approach Khalife and to call 999 immediately, quoting reference CAD 1631/06SEP23.