UK police suspect inside help in escape of fugitive terror suspect from prison

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) – A UK-wide manhunt for a former soldier suspected of terror offenses who escaped from a London prison continued for a third day on Friday.

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, is accused of planting fake bombs at a military base. He was held at HMP Wandsworth in southwest London awaiting trial for terrorism and Official Secrets Act violations.

He was believed to be working in the prison kitchen and wearing a chef's uniform while escaping.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley told LBC television that they are looking into the possibility that the ex-soldier was assisted by other prisoners or guards.

The escape was "clearly pre-planned, the fact that he could strap himself onto the bottom of the wagon," he said, adding that it was "unlikely to be something you do on the spur of the moment."

More than 150 officers and staff are involved in the search for Khalife, who escaped from the prison kitchen by strapping himself to the bottom of a food delivery van.

Police officers made a search overnight at Richmond Park, London's largest park, which included police helicopters.

Meanwhile, the incident has also sparked criticism about how an ex-soldier terror suspect was placed in a Category B jail.

According to the government chart, these are "either local or training prisons."

Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, told Sky News that HMP Wandsworth, from which Khalife escaped, "really needs closing."

In his report last year, he touched on "squalid" living conditions, overcrowding, and understaffing at HMP Wandsworth.

The prison should be closed "in an ideal world," but this is not possible due to the current "crisis" in prison facilities, Taylor added.

"There are only just enough places available at the moment for prisoners coming in," he explained.

Following the escape, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk met with the governor of HMP Wandsworth to ensure that “all necessary steps have been taken to secure the prison."

On Thursday, Chalk told the parliament that he has requested urgent answers from the HM Prison and Probation Service, as well as a review of "the categorization and placement of prisoners" at Wandsworth and terrorism prisoners across the estate.​​​​​​​