Daniel Khalife pleads not guilty to escaping from Wandsworth Prison

Former soldier Daniel Khalife has pleaded not guilty at the Old Bailey to escaping custody at HMP Wandsworth where he was on remand after being charged with terror offences earlier this year.

The 21-year-old appeared via video link from HMP Belmarsh at the Old Bailey on Thursday to deny the charge.

Khalife, who was wearing a blue and yellow sweatshirt, said: “I am not guilty.”

He is accused of escaping from prison on 6 September by allegedly strapping himself to the underside of a food delivery vehicle.

A four-day manhunt for Khalife ended when he was detained on a canal towpath in Northolt in west London after being pulled off a bike by a plain-clothes counter-terrorism officer.

Prior to his alleged escape, he was being held on remand at Wandsworth Prison after being charged with terror offences in January.

He has been accused of trying to spy for an enemy state, reportedly Iran, and obtaining information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

Khalife pleaded not guilty to the charges against him during a hearing in July.

His alleged escape has shone a light on the conditions within Wandsworth Prison, with the chief inspector of prisons calling for it to be shut down.

It later emerged that 40 prisoners had been moved out of the jail as a precaution, as the Government said it was working “to get to the bottom of what happened” at Wandsworth.