Three key questions on the prison escape of a terror suspect
Welcome to Thursday’s Early Edition from i.
Dressed in his cook’s uniform, Daniel Abed Khalife, a former soldier accused of terror offences, managed to escape from HMP Wandsworth at around 7.50am yesterday. According to one report, the 21-year-old was still in his red and white chequered chef’s trousers as he latched on to a delivery van leaving the prison. An hour later, ports and airports were placed on alert as police launched a nationwide manhunt for the suspect. Prison escapes have become increasingly rare in recent years, with just one other reported since 2020. According to the MoJ, the number of prison escapes has not exceeded four “in any financial year since March 2005”. So how did Wednesday’s come about, and what questions do ministers and prison bosses face? We’ll take a look, after the news.
Today’s news, and why it matters
Scientists have grown “complete” models of human embryos from stem cells in the lab outside the womb in a new first – but what might this mean for advances in fertility, the prevention of miscarriage and transplants? Experimenting on naturally produced human embryos isn’t an option, for ethical reasons – so these models can play a vital role in research, writes Stuart Ritchie.
Rishi Sunak and Steve Barclay had to have been aware of the crumbling concrete crisis in schools before they rejected requests for more money to repair classrooms, a former senior Department for Education official has said. Senior Downing Street sources have insisted that the Prime Minister was not made aware of the severity of the school building crisis when he was chancellor in 2021.
More than 20 councils in England are at risk of following Birmingham in declaring effective bankruptcy, experts believe. Pressure from budget cuts, inflation and social care has left several town halls struggling to balance the books this year and more could be at risk next year.
The Bank of England may stop raising interest rates as soon as this month, its Governor has suggested in a boost for Jeremy Hunt’s strategy. Andrew Bailey told MPs that the period when it was “clear that rates needed to rise going forwards” was now over.
Birmingham’s hosting of the 2026 European Athletics championships is in doubt after it declared effective bankruptcy. It is unclear how much of the funding for the European championships has already been signed off, but local government experts said a question mark now had to be raised over the event.
Terror suspect escape – three key questions :
Who is he? Daniel Abed Khalife joined the Army in 2019, but was discharged in May this year, as a result of being held on remand charges, the MoD told the BBC. He is awaiting trial after allegedly planting a fake bomb at an RAF base and gathering information that might be useful to terrorists or enemies of the UK. He is accused of eliciting or trying to elicit information that could be useful for a terrorist on 2 August 2021; and breaching the Official Secrets Act by gathering information that could be useful to an enemy between 1 May 2019 and 6 January 2022. Khalife has denied the three charges against him. The Metropolitan Police described him as slim, 6ft 2in, with short brown hair. The force said there was “no reason to believe Khalife poses a threat to the wider public” but has urged people not to approach him and to call 999 if they spot him. The 21-year-old, who was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown, steel toe-cap boots, is said to have links to north-west England and Kingston, but police are searching for him nationwide.
How did he get out? According to The Sun, Khalife was working in the prison kitchen yesterday morning, before making his way to the delivery area. Using makeshift straps, he “slipped under the delivery van dropping groceries at the kitchen and strapped himself under the vehicle”. A security expert cited by the paper likened it to something out of “old Second World War films”. The Times reported that the delivery vans are usually put in a holding zone where mirrors are used to check inside and outside the vehicle, including underneath. One source told the paper: “If that had happened they would have found him. There will be a huge inquest over this.” The manhunt caused chaos at airports, with some passengers reportedly queuing for hours, as airport staff helped with the search. Airline passengers have reportedly queued for hours, with some missing their flights, after airport staff searched for a suspected terrorist who escaped prison.
Why was he being held at a Category B prison? This will be one of the key question facing ministers today. As Richard Vaughan reports, prisoners facing terror-related charges are routinely held at the highest security Category A institution, HMP Belmarsh in south-east London. Khalife was being held in Wandsworth, a Category B prison. In January, court reports said that Mr Khalife had been remanded to Belmarsh. But on Wednesday night the Ministry of Justice denied he had ever been held there or any other maximum security facility. Mark Leech, editor of the Prisons Handbook for England and Wales, told Sky News: “That is something that in hindsight they will want to review and the investigation will look into that.” Labour’s shadow Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “The Conservatives need to urgently explain how they can’t do the basic job of keeping potentially dangerous criminals locked up.” Read the full story here. The Times also reported that there was a delay of around an hour between prison officials noticing he was missing and contacting the police, raising more questions about how swiftly authorities acted. And prison bosses will face serious scrutiny over security measures. A serious security breach at Wandsworth led to an escape in 2019. An inspectorate report on the prison in 2021 said: “We were given some assurance that action to prevent further escapes had been taken in response to the investigation that followed. However, current local security data evidenced some concerns in the physical aspects of security.” The report also noted: “Leaders in this crumbling, overcrowded, vermin-infested prison will need considerable ongoing support from the prison service … It is hard to see how HMP Wandsworth’s limited progress can be sustained if prisoner numbers in this jail are allowed to increase as they are scheduled to do next April.” The prison has seen a small number of escapes over the decades, including one in 2011, but most the prison’s most famous escape was that of Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs, after he managed to scale a 20ft-high wall while on his exercise break. Ian Acheson, a former prison governor who was head of security at HMP Wandsworth, told The Times: “It is difficult to understand why someone facing those charges is at Wandsworth in the first place. And even then, why he’s in the kitchen, which is a security risk immediately because it involves handling knives. Did they do an effective risk assessment?”
Around the world
The US has said it will supply depleted uranium tank shells to Ukraine as part of more than $1bn (£800m) in military and humanitarian aid. The announcement came as Ukraine accused Russia of killing 17 people in a missile attack on a market street.
A night train linking Berlin and Paris will return in December, nine years after the service was cancelled. Austrian rail operator ÖBB said the service would hold three trips a week before becoming a daily service by October next year. It will make stops in Strasbourg, Mannheim, Erfurt and Halle.
Tourists have been warned off popular beaches in the Canary Islands by fake signs in English claiming the water is contaminated as opposition to holidaymakers spreads in Spain. On the Castro beach in Tenerife, a sign reads: “Beach closed, contaminated water”. Underneath there was another message in Spanish which read: “Beach open, the contamination is the guiris en masse”.
A man has been arrested after trying to “run to London” across the Atlantic Ocean in a homemade vessel resembling a hamster wheel. The US Coast Guard intercepted Reza Baluchi about 70 miles off Tybee Island, Georgia. Officials said the 44-year-old marathon runner refused to leave the vessel for three days.
An intriguing long-legged bird that evolved from and lived alongside the dinosaurs has been discovered in China. The beast has been given a Latin name that means “bizarre Fujian hunter” and could help scientists to understand the different evolutionary paths followed by the first avialans.
Watch out for…
Science Secretary Michelle Donelan, who is expected to confirm Britain rejoining the EU’s Horizon science research programme today.
Thoughts for the day
This is the Government’s death throes. Now all hope is lost. This week, as ministers returned from summer holidays, they finally gave up any remaining hope that they could win the next election, says Ian Dunt.
The fallout from the Rubiales scandal confirms it – women’s football is still all about men. What little girl watching the turmoil in the Spanish game would want to become one of the players she has finally seen on screen, if this is how it ends, asks Charlotte Lytton.
The man who sent me obscene images is going to prison, and I’ve taken the power back. I never thought that we would get to a place where people could be convicted for these crimes, writes Kate Lister.
Culture Break
“The BBC has made missteps when it comes to classical music”. Ahead of the Last Night of the Proms, Katie Derham talks about how we undervalue classical music – and the future of BBC radio.
The Big Read
A portion control plate has changed the way I eat – I dropped 4lb in 5 days without feeling hungry. Could the “three-compartment-divided dinner plate, with sections for protein, veg and carbs, be the answer to “portion distortion” and overeating? Some experts believe so. Sophie Morris puts it to the test.
Sport
Steve Harmison: It would be “cruel” to take Jofra Archer to the Cricket World Cup. Harmison believes taking Archer as a travelling reserve would be a huge mistake and counter-productive to his long-term career, writes Chris Stocks.
Something to brighten your day
An insurance broker who quit his job to become a magician now earns £8k a month. Dennis Kim reveals how he worked tirelessly practising and learning magic, networking with other magicians to fulfil his dream.
