Daniel Khalife sentenced for prison escape and spying charges
Khalife made national headlines after he escaped from Wandsworth Prison in September 2023
Former soldier Daniel Khalife has been sentenced to 14 years and three months in prison for escaping Wandsworth prison and on charges of spying for Iran whilst he was in the army.
Back in November, Khalife was found guilty of spying charges at Woolwich Crown Court including collecting sensitive military information for Iran.
During the court case last year, the 23-year-old who spent time as a soldier at a barracks in Stafford also pleaded guilty to escaping from Wandsworth Prison.
He escaped in September 2023 after he attached himself to the underside of a food delivery truck with slings made from kitchen trousers.
He was caught on a canal towpath by a plainclothes detective days later.
Daniel Khalife spying charges
In the court case the jury had heard how Khalife was first arrested in January 2022 after he contacted MI6 and MI5 saying he wanted to be a double agent.
The prosecution had told the court Khalife first contacted the Iranians when he was 17 years old after he joined the army and was 20 years old at the time of his arrest.
A lot of the information he gave to the Iranians is believed to be fake, but investigators said some of the information could have jeopardised the release of British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
Alarms were raised after Khalife contacted MI6, claiming he had intended to act as a double agent.
In November, jurors at Woolwich Crown Court found that Khalife had breached the Official Secrets Act and the Terrorism Act.
He was cleared of carrying out a bomb hoax and had already admitted during his trial to escaping from Wandsworth prison.