Daniel Khalife cops probe if prison guard helped ‘terrorist’ escape – as it’s revealed he may have burns on his face
COPS are probing whether on-the-run terror suspect Daniel Khalife was helped by a prison guard in his daring escape.
Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said the 21-year-old’s break from HMP Wandsworth was “clearly pre-planned”.
The chief also suggested police are looking into whether the escape was an “inside job”.
Sir Mark told LBC: “It is a question. Did anyone inside the prison help him? Other prisoners, guard staff? Was he helped by people outside the walls or was it simply all of his own creation?”
The commissioner branded the escape “extremely concerning” and said it is unlikely to be “something you do on the spur of the moment”.
His fears come after it emerged Khalife may have suffered burns on his face when he fled the prison on Wednesday under a food van.
Pharmacists are now being urged to keep an eye out for the former soldier in case he comes in needing treatment.
The Met’s counter-terrorism commander Dominic Murphy said he was keeping an “open mind” over whether Khalife received help.
He said: “This was a really busy area of London and we’ve had no confirmed sightings in any of that information, which is a little unusual, and perhaps testament to Daniel Khalife’s ingenuity in his escape and some of his movements after his escape.
“He was a trained soldier – so ultimately he has skills that perhaps some sections of the public don’t have.
“He’s a very resourceful individual, clearly, and our experience of him shows that, so nothing is off the table with him at the moment.”
Khalife hid under the food delivery truck to make his escape while working in the prison kitchen on Wednesday morning.
He fled in a chef’s uniform of a white T-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown steel toecap boots.
The terror suspect thought to have used makeshift straps to attach himself to the truck as it was waved out of the notorious lock-up.
A huge manhunt has been launched for Khalife with security checks taking place at UK airports and ports.
Police searching for the escaped inmate have sealed off all entrances to Richmond Park in South West London as the hunt continues.
A source confirmed to The Sun that the huge police activity around Richmond Park was linked to the ongoing hunt for Khalife.
The park is just over two miles from where cops swooped on the delivery van at 8.37am – over an hour after Khalife was declared missing.
Questions have been raised over why prison officers did not notify cops about the escape until 8.15am – around 45 minutes after the van left the prison.
In a timeline released by police last night, it was revealed the van took a right turn out of the gates at Wandsworth onto Heathfield Road at 7.32am.
It then turned left onto Magdalen Road and left again onto Trinity Road (A214) up to the Wandsworth Roundabout – taking the first exit onto Swandon Way (A217).
From there the van turned left onto Old York Road past Wandsworth Town station then left onto Fairfield Street, and right onto Wandsworth High Street (A3).
It stayed straight ahead onto West Hill and then on to Upper Richmond Road (A205) where it was stopped by cops.
The ex-soldier, who is accused of planting fake bombs at a UK military base, had reportedly tried to make a previous bid for freedom.
Despite this, Khalife managed to still secure a cushy job in the kitchen.
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk revealed a probe will be launched into the prison as he made a speech in the House of Commons yesterday.
An additional independent investigation will also take place in the future.
Khalife, who was attached to the Royal Signal Corps before being discharged, is accused of leaving fake bombs at an RAF base in January.
He vanished for more than three weeks after the bomb hoax before being arrested on January 26.
Another charge, under the Official Secrets Act, alleges Khalife collected personal information about soldiers from an MoD computer system that could be useful to an enemy.
He was being held on remand at Wandsworth prison and was due to stand trial on November 20.
Anyone who sees Khalife has been urged to call 999 immediately.