An inmate who worked elbow-to-elbow with Daniel Khalife claims the escaped prisoner told him "he was going to be famous".
The terror suspect is currently the most wanted man in the UK after fleeing from Wandsworth prison. The former soldier strapped himself to the bottom of a food delivery van on Wednesday morning sparking a national manhunt.
Khalife vanished into the busy London rush hour, leaving police racing to catch up. The 21-year-old was a few months from his trial, scheduled for November, in relation to alleged terror and Official Secrets Act offences.
Speaking out today, one former inmate has said that whilst he worked in the kitchens of the prison, preparing foods, Khalife unloaded the deliveries.
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Daniel Khalife pictured with an ex army friend, on a night out near Army base in Blandford
The former soldier was being held on suspected terror charges (Sky News)Chris Jones, 53, was released from HMP Wandsworth in June after being acquitted after seven months on remand. He now works as a roofer. He said Khalife came across as "quite down to Earth and up for a laugh".
He told the BBC: "He did seem like an odd sausage. One lunchtime he came in saying that he was going be famous. I told him: 'I think you've got on the wrong bus, mate.' He would come to work with a comb and mirror constantly checking his appearance, although I can't say I thought much of it."
He added that they used to joke about escaping on the food delivery van, but he was admittedly "surprised" by Khalife's actions because there had always been so many security staff around.
CCTV of the van Khalife escaped under (Met Police)Mr Jones added: "A prison staff member would stand by the lorry ticking off the goods as they were unloaded; you could not move around freely. If you wanted to move from the coffee shop to the kitchen, the staff would log a move. "Having said this, many mistakes were made all the time, all down to staffing issues".
One such mistake was when the entire prison was thrown into lockdown after an inmate was unaccounted for, before guards clocked he had been released the day before and it hadn't been properly registered.
Earlier today, the first confirmed sighting of Khalife was announced by the Met Police. Counter Terrorism Commander Dominic Murphy said that it was a "very significant" development.
In a statement released today, the Met Police said: "Detectives have received information from a member of the public who said they saw a man fitting Khalife’s description walking away from a BidFood van that had stopped near the south entrance to the Wandsworth Roundabout, at the top of Trinity Road, shortly after his escape. The man was then seen walking towards Wandsworth town centre. This is one of several key lines of enquiry that officers are pursuing."
A £20,000 reward is on offer for information leading to Khalife's capture.
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