Former soldier found guilty of spying for Iran
A jury's found Daniel Khalife passed on secret information to agents
Last updated 28th Nov 2024
A former soldier has been found guilty of spying for Iran whilst he was in the army.
Daniel Khalife faced multiple charges at Woolwich Crown Court including collecting sensitive military information for Iran.
The 23 year old - who spent time as a soldier at a barracks in Stafford - has also been cleared of carrying out a bomb hoax.
Khalife from Kingston in South London was also facing charges relating to escaping Wandsworth Prison, but pleaded guilty to those whilst awaiting trial.
He escaped in September 2023 for four days after he attached himself to the underside of a food delivery truck with slings made from kitchen trousers.
He pleaded guilty to escaping prison part way through his spying trial on the 11th of November.
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.
Crown Prosecution Service reaction
Daniel Khalife's actions could have put military personnel's lives at risk and "prejudiced" the UK's national security, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
Bethan David, from the CPS, said: "As a serving soldier of the British Army Daniel Khalife was employed and entrusted to uphold and protect the national security of this country. But, for purposes of his own, Daniel Khalife used his employment to undermine national security.
"He surreptitiously sought out and obtained copies of secret and sensitive information which he knew were protected and passed these on to individuals he believed to be acting on behalf of the Iranian state. The sharing of the information could have exposed military personnel to serious harm, or a risk to life, and prejudiced the safety and security of the United Kingdom.
"The prosecution was able to use mobile phone evidence, notes written by Khalife himself and CCTV footage to piece together and demonstrate that Khalife had gathered and shared much of this classified information, accepted hundreds of pounds for his efforts and even travelled to Turkey as part of his unlawful conduct.
"It is against the law to collate and share secret and sensitive information for a purpose against the interests of the United Kingdom. Such hostile and illegal activities jeopardise the national security of the United Kingdom, and the CPS will always seek to prosecute anyone that carries out counter state threats."