Motorway shut down as 21-year-old terror suspect escapes prison ‘dressed as a chef’
A motorway has been shut in an 'emergency measure' after a 21-year-old terror suspect escaped prison ‘dressed as a chef’.
Ex-soldier Daniel Abed Khalife, who has been accused of planting fake bombs at a military base, escaped HMP Wandsworth Prison yesterday (6 September) just before 8.00am.
Prior to his escape, the man was awaiting trial on terror offences and has also been accused of breaching the Official Secrets Act.
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He denies all the charges.
Khalife's escape has since triggered an 'urgent' manhunt.
According to police reports, the suspect was last seen wearing a white t-shirt with red and white chequered trousers.
During the escape, he was also wearing brown steel-toe-cap boots.
Police described Khalife as 6ft 2in, with a slim build and short brown hair.
Commander Dominic Murphy said 'nothing is off the table' with Khalife at this current moment.
"He's out in the open now, so who's to say whether he has money available to him, but that's part of our inquiry and what we're trying to understand," he said.
"He's a very resourceful individual, clearly, and our experience of him shows that, so nothing is off the table with him at the moment."
The prisoner is thought to have made his big getaway clinging to the underside of a food truck, with Justice Secretary Alex Chalk revealing in a statement to the House of Commons that 'strapping' was found underneath the vehicle.
Kent Police have since revealed that following the escape, the M20 coastbound road between Junctions 8 and 9 is being closed due to 'enhanced port security checks'.
The force has not directly linked the motorway closure to the manhunt but the announcement follows an earlier statement from the Met Police's counter-terror department.
The alert informed the public that authorities had issued an alert about the suspect's escape to 'enforcement agencies, including those at UK ports and borders'.
After his escape, Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, has asked the public to contact the police with more information.
He said: "We have a team of officers who are making extensive and urgent enquiries in order to locate and detain Khalife as quickly as possible.
"However, the public can help us as well and should anyone see Khalife, or have any information as to where he might be, then please call 999 immediately.
"I also want to reassure the public that we have no information which indicates, nor any reason to believe that Khalife poses a threat to the wider public, but our advice if you do see him is not to approach him and call 999 straight away."
Topics: Crime, UK News, Daniel Khalife
Rhiannon Ingle