Police seal off Richmond Park as they search for escaped prisoner Daniel Khalife

Police have sealed off Richmond Park in the hunt for terror suspect Daniel Abed Khalife, who escaped from prison 48 hours ago.

On Wednesday (6 September), police launched an 'urgent' man hunt for Khalife after his disappearance just before 8am on the same day.

Ex-soldier Khalife, who has been accused of planting fake bombs at a military base, escaped HMP Wandsworth Prison.

Prior to his escape, the man was awaiting trial on terror offences and has also been accused of breaching the Official Secrets Act.

He denies all the charges.

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.

Met Police

Police described Khalife as 6ft 2in, with a slim build and short brown hair.

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.

As part of the search, officers searched Richmond Park in the early hours of Friday (8 September) morning, which was closed during the operation.

Officers were stationed at key entrance and exit points, with two helicopters hovering over the area using heat-cameras to try and find the suspect.

However, there have been no confirmed sightings of Khalife as of yet, despite the police receiving more than 50 calls from the public.

The Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command continue to try and track him down, with more than 150 people involved in the search.

A source close to the goings-on of the investigation told the MailOnline: "If I was him I'd be hundreds of miles away from Wandsworth but we have to be certain he's not on our doorstep.

"The van he was in was a couple of miles from Richmond Park so it has to be searched – and from the air is the easiest way.

"Officers will be at the site overnight but I expect the park to open as usual in the morning, which is a sign they haven't found what they were looking for."

Sky News

After Khalife escaped, Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, asked the public to contact to 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.”