British Police Capture Escaped Terrorism Suspect

A former British soldier who escaped from a London prison four days ago was captured Saturday while riding a bike on a path west of London, police said. 

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, escaped from HMP Wandsworth by leaving the prison kitchen where he was working and fastening himself to the bottom of a food delivery van. He was caught about 16 kilometers from where he escaped. 

Discharged from the British army in May, Khalife was awaiting trial on offenses related to terrorism and violations of the Official Secrets Act. He is accused of planting fake bombs at an army base in England and, the BBC reported, collecting sensitive personal information about soldiers from a British Defense Ministry database. His trial is scheduled for November. 

He is also charged with obtaining information that might be “directly or indirectly useful to an enemy.” The BBC reported that enemy was Iran.  Khalife has denied the charges. 

Khalife’s prison escape from HMP Wandsworth, a medium-security prison that opened in 1851, prompted criticism of the governing Conservative Party’s years of austerity. 

“We need answers about how on earth a prisoner charged with terror & national security offences could have escaped in this way,” Yvette Cooper, a member of the Labour Party in the House of Commons, wrote on social media Saturday. 

British Justice Minister Alex Chalk briefed Parliament on the escape Thursday and promised an immediate investigation into the prison’s protocols and the decision about where Khalife was held. He said a second independent investigation will take place at a later date as well.  

“No stone must be left unturned in getting to the bottom of what happened,” Chalk said. 

London’s Metropolitan Police had offered a reward of $25,000 for information leading to Khalife’s arrest, but it was unclear Saturday if anyone is eligible to receive the money. 

Some information in this report was provided by Reuters and The Associated Press.
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