Terror accused on run after London jail breakout
British authorities on Wednesday issued an all-ports alert to track down a former soldier awaiting trial on terrorism charges, after he escaped from jail by clinging to the bottom of a delivery van. Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, was reported to have been working in the kitchen of Wandsworth prison and wearing a chef's uniform of a white t-shirt and red and white chequered trousers when he absconded. The Metropolitan Police said ports and airports had been put on high alert after his disappearance from the south London jail at about 7.50am local time. He was likely to still be in the London area, although they did not rule out he had travelled outside the British capital, the force added. The public was warned not to approach him but to call police immediately. "We have no information which indicates, nor any reason to believe that Khalife poses a threat to the wider public," said Dominic Murphy, the head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command. Khalife appeared in court in London on January 28 and was remanded in custody over two incidents at the Royal Air Force (RAF) base in Stafford, central England, near the army barracks where he lived. Khalife is accused of "attempting to elicit information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism" in August 2021. He was also charged with a bomb hoax by placing a suspect device at the RAF base on January 2 this year. His trial had been set to begin on November 13 at Woolwich Crown Court in south London. The Prison Service said it was working with police to recapture Khalife and was "urgently investigating how he escaped", a spokesperson said. (AFP)