Daniel Khalife jailed for spying for Iran and prison escape

Daniel Khalife has been jailed for 14 years and 3 months aft escaping from situation portion awaiting proceedings for spying for Iran.

Khalife joined the Army aged 16, and soon aft began passing delicate accusation - including the names of peculiar forces soldiers - to Tehran.

Khalife, present 23, was charged successful January 2023 and became the taxable of a nationwide manhunt eight months later when helium fled Wandsworth situation earlier his trial. He was arrested successful London aft a 75-hour search.

Sentencing Khalife connected Monday, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said helium had "the makings of an exemplary soldier" erstwhile helium joined, but alternatively showed himself "to beryllium a unsafe fool".

"You are an attraction seeker and you enjoyed the notoriety you attracted pursuing your flight from prison," the justice added.

Khalife, wearing a achromatic jumper, showed nary absorption arsenic helium was led from tribunal pursuing the sentencing.

The erstwhile soldier, whose actions breached the Official Secrets Act and the Terrorism Act, was found blameworthy of spying for Iran aft a proceedings astatine Woolwich Crown Court successful November.

Part mode done the trial, helium pleaded blameworthy to escaping from situation by strapping himself to the underside of a nutrient transportation truck.

He was cleared of perpetrating a bomb hoax astatine his service barracks astatine RAF Stafford successful 2023, aft 3 wired cannisters were near astatine the basal wherever helium lived and worked.

Khalife began to foster a narration with Tehran soon aft helium was employed by the British Army arsenic a teen successful September 2018.

He utilized Facebook to interaction a antheral with links to Iranian intelligence, and from determination built a narration with assorted contacts from Iran.

By August 2019, having been successful the Army for little than a year, helium was sent to cod $2,000 (£1,600) successful a canine poo container successful Mill Hill Park, northbound London.

Khalife besides travelled to Turkey successful August 2020, wherever helium near a bundle for Iranian quality agents.

During his trial, the tribunal heard Khalife had anonymously contacted MI6 twice offering to enactment arsenic a treble cause for them.

Following the calls, constabulary launched an probe into him successful November 2021. He was arrested successful January 2022, and charged 1 twelvemonth later.

He escaped from Wandsworth situation aboriginal successful 2023 portion awaiting trial, lone to beryllium recovered and arrested aft 3 days.

Prosecutors said Khalife had been "entrusted to uphold and support the nationalist information of this country", but had alternatively "used his employment to undermine" it.

However, Khalife's lawyer claimed doubly during the proceedings that this crippled was "hapless" and much "Scooby-Doo" than "007".

In her sentencing remarks, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said: "What a shame soon aft basal grooming you spent much than 2 years successful interaction with agents of Iran, a state whose interests bash not align with UK".

She added that by the clip Khalife had initiated a narration with Iran, helium had been vetted and cleared and thereby had entree to a "sea of delicate material".

"The work of confidentiality you owed would person been drilled into you," she added.

The justice said it was not imaginable to cognize the details of each the accusation Khalife had passed connected to his handlers.

The tribunal besides heard a fig of mitigating factors, including Khalife's property and a intelligence study from 2023 diagnosing him with Antisocial Personality Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

During his clip successful the Army, including portion connected a subject workout successful the US, Khalife accumulated galore pictures of concealed communications instrumentality connected his iPhone - including machine screens showing IP addresses. It is unclear however galore of the photos helium really sent to Iran.

Khalife gathered the names of 15 serving soldiers – including immoderate from the peculiar forces.

Initially helium lone had surnames and initials, but helium recovered a flaw successful the Army's holiday-booking strategy that allowed him to look up and photograph soldiers' archetypal names too. These pictures were aboriginal recovered connected his phone.

Prosecutors judge helium sent the database of names of soldiers to Iran earlier deleting the evidence.

However, Khalife denied ever sending it and claimed the accusation helium did walk connected was "fake" oregon "useless". However, helium seemingly sent astatine slightest 2 classified documents - 1 connected drones and different connected "Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance".

The UK volition ne'er cognize the afloat standard of what Khalife handed over, arsenic astir of the messages helium exchanged with contacts were sent connected the encrypted connection app Telegram.

Speaking aft the verdict, Commander Dominic Murphy, the caput of the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command, said: "The menace to the UK from states specified arsenic Iran is precise serious, truthful for a worker successful the service to beryllium sharing delicate subject worldly and accusation with them is highly reckless and dangerous."

After his situation escape, Khalife was arrested by plain-clothes officers portion riding a stolen motorcycle connected a canal towpath successful north-west London - conscionable 11 miles from Wandsworth.

While connected the run, helium had made an effort to interaction the Iranians, sending a Telegram connection which said simply: "I wait." He received nary response.

It was revealed astatine the sentencing proceeding that Khalife's flight outgo constabulary implicit £250,000 successful overtime, with implicit 150 officers astatine 1 constituent helping with the manhunt.

In his archetypal interrogation successful January 2022, Khalife told constabulary helium had an ambition to enactment successful subject quality oregon for an elite signals unit.

He said helium had been informed by an serviceman that his ancestry meant helium was improbable to suffice for the high-level information vetting - called "developed vetting" - that would let him to enactment successful delicate roles.

"After this I decided to commencement my ain intel cognition to beryllium that I was capable to bash this," helium wrote successful an physics enactment successful 2021.

Khalife told the assemblage that helium escaped due to the fact that helium was being held connected the susceptible prisoners portion wherever astir inmates are enactment offenders, and due to the fact that helium had been warned that "terrorists" successful Wandsworth situation would effort to onslaught him.

He said helium believed that if helium escaped helium would beryllium enactment successful the precocious information portion astatine Belmarsh prison.

After the escape, an audit recovered 81 information failings astatine the prison. It besides resulted successful "long overdue" upgrades being made to CCTV cameras which had not worked for much than a year, the prison's Independent Monitoring Board said.

It emerged that connected the time of Khalife's escape, astir 40% of situation officers did not crook up for their displacement astatine Wandsworth prison. However, the Ministry of Justice insisted the situation had been adequately staffed.

After Monday's sentencing, information curate Dan Jarvis said the lawsuit showed the authorities "will usage the afloat scope of due tools and powers available" to disrupt the enactment of "individuals who airs a menace to our nationalist security."