UK minister vows to hunt down escaped prisoner
The UK justice minister on Thursday promised that a former soldier awaiting trial on terrorism charges would be hunted down, after he made an audacious escape from prison. Daniel Abed Khalife fled from Wandsworth prison in south London on Wednesday morning, probably by clinging to the bottom of a delivery van. His disappearance triggered a major manhunt, with extra security checks introduced at ports and airports amid fears the 21-year-old may try to flee the country. "Daniel Khalife will be found and he will be made to face justice," UK Justice Secretary Alex Chalk told the lower house of parliament. Chalk said "local contingency plans for an unaccounted prisoner" had been activated shortly after the departure of a vehicle making a delivery to the prison's kitchen at around 0630 GMT on Wednesday. "The prison was put into a state of lockdown while staff attempted to determine Daniel Khalife's whereabouts. "Strapping was found underneath the vehicle which appeared to indicate that Daniel Khalife may have held onto the underside of it in order to escape," Chalk added. Metropolitan Police Commander Dominic Murphy said Late Thursday that there had been no confirmed sightings of the suspect and that officers were keeping an "open mind" as to where he might be. Murphy added that Khalife was a "resourceful individual" given his military background. Khalife was reported to have been working in the prison kitchen and wearing a white T-shirt and red-and-white chequered trousers when he absconded. Kent Police said junctions on a motorway heading towards England's south coast had been temporarily shut on Thursday due to enhanced security checks. Chalk announced an independent investigation into the escape and also ordered urgent reviews into the categorisation and placement of everyone held at Wandsworth prison and all those in custody FOR terror offences. Wandsworth, which opened in 1851, is a Category B prison -- the second highest security level. Terror suspects and prisoners are routinely held in maximum security Category A facilities. (AFP)