Daniel Khalife, the former soldier and terror suspect who went on the run from a London prison, allegedly escaped by strapping himself to the underside of food delivery lorry using material “which may have been from bed sheets”, a court has heard.
The 21 year old was remanded at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday charged with escaping custody at HMP Wandsworth last Wednesday.
He was arrested on a canal towpath in West London at 10.40am on Saturday after being pulled off a bicycle by a plain clothes counter-terrorism officer.
Before his alleged escape, Mr Khalife had been on remand at Wandsworth after being charged with terror offences in January.
He will appear at the Old Bailey on September 29.
Detailing the allegation against the defendant, prosecutor Thomas Williams said the former soldier is alleged to have escaped on the underside of a food delivery vehicle.
Mr Williams said Khalife is accused of strapping himself to the lorry using “material which may have been from bed sheets”.
Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram was told the material was found underneath the vehicle by police, with clips at each end and marks which were consistent with someone having been there.
The court also heard that, when Khalife was arrested, he had a bag containing cash and a mobile phone with him.
Police checked gardens, stopped and inspected cars, and asked residents for their IDs throughout Saturday morning following the alleged escape.
Mr Khalife was brought up with his twin sister by a single mother who was born and raised in Iran.
One friend said the family had initially lived in central London, and moved to Teddington when Mr Khalife was about 10.
“He was a very nice guy when he joined school aged 11. He was the class clown, one of the funniest in the year, but he went into his shell a bit,” the friend said.
The family lived in a cramped flat in Kingston, West London and both children attended Teddington School.
Mr Khalife was in the lower sets at school. He was described as a bit of a loner who would sit at the back of the classroom “swinging on his chair”.
He was described as “a bit lost and generally quite sweet”.
“He was not academically inclined but not intimidating either,” a former schoolmate said. “He was a spotty, lanky teenager who sat at the back of class and no one really spoke to, a lost soul.”
Although there was some trouble with pupils from a local estate, generally the school achieved good results.
Mr Khalife gained a “handful” of GCSEs and then dropped out of school to join the army, where he was serving at Beacon Barracks in Staffordshire, the base for the 1st Signal Brigade.
Mr Khalife's grandparents came to the UK from Iran in 1995. His grandmother was a primary schoolteacher in her home country and his grandfather, who died in 2020, was an accountant at Tehran University.
Mr Khalife's mother was born in Iran and worked at C&A, the clothes store, and at a bank before getting married in her early 20s.
His father is originally from Lebanon, but his mother's family did not approve of the match, and his maternal grandfather and uncle did not attend the wedding.
The couple broke up when Mr Khalife and his sister were young, and their grandmother began to help their mother, taking the children to school and cooking for them.
Mobile phone packages comparison
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Results
2pm: Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (Dirt) 1,200m, Winner: Mouheeb, Tom Marquand (jockey), Nicholas Bachalard (trainer)
2.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh68,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Honourable Justice, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
3pm: Handicap (TB) Dh84,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Dahawi, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
3.30pm: Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Dark Silver, Fernando Jara, Ahmad bin Harmash
4pm: Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Dark Of Night. Antonio Fresu, Al Muhairi.
4.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh68,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Habah, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
Opening Premier League fixtures, August 14
- Brentford v Arsenal
- Burnley v Brighton
- Chelsea v Crystal Palace
- Everton v Southampton
- Leicester City v Wolves
- Manchester United v Leeds United
- Newcastle United v West Ham United
- Norwich City v Liverpool
- Tottenham v Manchester City
- Watford v Aston Villa
How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
2289 - Dh10
2252 - Dh50
6025 - Dh20
6027 - Dh100
6026 - Dh200
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4.4-litre%2C%20twin-turbo%20V8%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eeight-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E617hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E750Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh630%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Scoreline
UAE 2-1 Saudi Arabia
UAE Mabkhout 21’, Khalil 59’
Saudi Al Abed (pen) 20’
Man of the match Ahmed Khalil (UAE)
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
