A former British soldier accused of escaping from prison told police “everything’s gone to plan” after they arrested him on the fourth day of a major manhunt, a court has heard.
Daniel Khalife, 23, is alleged to have escaped from HMP Wandsworth in south London while on remand by strapping himself to the underside of a food delivery lorry on the morning of September 6 2023.
Khalife was questioned by police after his arrest on a canal towpath in west London on September 9, and told them: “There’s a reason why I was so calm when the officer arrested me.”
Asked about the alleged lorry escape, he said: “I wasn’t sitting in the front, you know”.
Khalife also told officers he “never thought” it was a crime to escape from prison, Woolwich Crown Court heard.
During a police interview, the former soldier said he “f***** up” his body underneath the truck.
“You see the floor going faster and faster and faster, the lorry shakes and it’s hot,” he said.
Khalife said he did not realise how “unbelievably dangerous” it was until the vehicle turned on to Trinity Road in Wandsworth, where the speed limit increased.
He said he was in pain from holding himself in an “awkward position” for so long.
“There’s a reason why I was so calm when the officer arrested me.
“I could have jumped in the water, I could have f***** him up.
“Everything’s gone to plan,” he added.
“If I was really, really keen to abscond I would have gone to Clapham (station)… the furthest train possible, go to some country and disappear.”
He said that, as a former soldier, he was trained for “escape and evasion”, adding: “We’re soldiers… it means something, years of training.
“We’re literally trained for escape and evasion.”
Khalife complained about the “terrible” picture that had been circulated of him during the manhunt, the court was told.
He also told officers he regretted being a “burden” on the country when he heard about lorries being stopped and airport delays as a result of extra security checks in the wake of his alleged escape.
Asked if he had enjoyed the alleged escape, Khalife said no, adding: “I was in prison, now I’m in prison.”
In a letter found after Khalife was captured, the former soldier said he was “loyal to the UK” and that his “difficult situation” had got “way out of hand” having “started with good intentions”, the court heard.
The unsent letter was found in the back of a Ford Transit van which was on false plates and reported as having been stolen from Stafford Barracks – where Khalife was previously based – in November 2022, jurors were told.
The van, which contained a camp bed and £18,000 in cash, was found in a car park in Stone, Staffordshire, on September 7, during the manhunt for Khalife after his alleged escape, the court heard.
In one of the letters, Khalife claimed to have been “invited into the Iranian embassy” in London on two occasions, where he was told about a plan for his “defection”.
He also faces charges contrary to the Official Secrets Act and Terrorism Act, and is accused of perpetrating a bomb hoax.
He denies all of the charges.
The trial continues.
