Hunt continues for escaped prisoner

The hunt is continuing for a former soldier who is on the run from a prison in south London.

Daniel Abed Khalife went missing on Wednesday morning when it's believed he escaped from a prison kitchen at Wandsworth jail, by clinging to a delivery van.

The 21 year old was on remand at the category B site, awaiting trial for terrorism charges.

Kent Police confirmed junctions eight and nine of the M20 were temporarily shut on Thursday due to the enhanced security checks and to allow freight heading for mainland Europe to queue on the empty section of the motorway.

There are fears the fugitive might try to flee the country.

'Prison escapes are extremely rare'

Cabinet minister Michelle Donelan acknowledged that the public would be concerned about the incident, but insisted prison escapes were incredibly rare and the incident was being looked into.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also insisted prison escapes are "extremely rare" and rejected calls for an independent inquiry as an internal inquiry had already been initiated.

Professor Ian Acheson, a former head of security at Wandsworth, said Khalife's escape was "at best" a "catastrophic system failure".

He said: "It's incredibly embarrassing for the prison service but it's not entirely surprising given what we know about what's going on Wandsworth at the moment."

Professor Acheson said the prison was in "freefall".

He added: "I mean, frankly, if you cannot even manage to get the bins emptied in a place like Wandsworth what else is going wrong?"

Ms Donelan said there were questions to answer, including over the type of prison Khalife was being held at, with HMP Wandsworth - a category B prison - having the second-highest level of security.

She said: "This is not an epidemic or anything of that nature. This is an isolated incident."

The jail was put on lockdown after he fled.

The head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, Commander Dominic Murphy, has said there is "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 Met say they've had no confirmed sightings so far

Khalife, who was 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, was discharged from the Army in May 2023.

He has denied the three charges against him.

He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown, steel toe-cap boots, the Metropolitan Police said. He is described as slim and 6ft 2in, with short brown hair.

Mr Murphy told reporters: "However, he clearly could very quickly change those clothes, so I wouldn't want to focus too much on that."

Kent Police confirmed junctions eight and nine of the M20 were temporarily shut on Thursday due to the enhanced security checks - and to allow freight heading for mainland Europe to queue on the empty section of the motorway.

Mr Murphy previously said there was "no reason to believe Khalife poses a threat to the wider public" but urged people not to approach him and to call 999 if they spotted him.

Khalife has links to the West Midlands and Kingston in London, but Mr Murphy said the hunt was covering the whole of the UK.

A trial date has been set for November 13 at Woolwich Crown Court.

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