Daniel Khalife “bought £1.09 espresso at McDonald’s after escaping prison” | British News

A former British soldier accused of escaping from prison bought a McDonald’s coffee and a newspaper about him while officers searched for him.

Daniel Khalife, 23, is believed to have escaped from HMP Wandsworth, south London, while in custody by strapping himself to the underside of a food delivery van on the morning of September 6, 2023.

CCTV footage shown in court showed him entering a Mountain Warehouse, buying a phone and stopping at M&S ​​and McDonalds.

The court heard he also bought a newspaper with a story about his alleged escape before buying a £1.09 espresso from McDonald’s.

Khalife was eventually arrested on a Grand Union Canal footpath on September 9, telling officers that his “body ached” after he escaped from prison in a truck.

After his arrest, Khalife also told officers he “never thought” escaping prison would be a crime, Woolwich Crown Court heard.

During a police interview, the former soldier said he “messed up” his body under the truck.

“You can see the ground getting faster and faster, the truck is shaking and it’s hot,” he said.

Khalife told the court he only realized how “incredibly dangerous” it was when the vehicle turned onto Trinity Road in Wandsworth, where the speed limit had been increased.

When asked why he allegedly fled, Khalife replied: “I can’t tell you.” There is a reason why I was so calm when the officer arrested me. I could have jumped in the water and screwed him over. Everything went according to plan.’

He added: “If I was really desperate to escape I would have gone to Clapham (train station)… take the train as far away as possible to a country and disappear.”

He said that as a former soldier he had been trained in “escape and evasion,” adding: “We are soldiers… that means something, years of training. “We are trained in escape and evasion in every sense of the word.”

Khalife complained in court about the “terrible” image of him that was distributed during the manhunt, the court was told.

He also told officials that he regretted being a “burden” to the country when he heard about stopped trucks and delays at the airport as a result of additional security checks in the wake of his alleged escape.

Asked if he enjoyed the alleged escape, Khalife said no, adding: “I was in prison, now I’m in prison.”

He is also charged with breaches of the Official Secrets Act and the Terrorism Act and is accused of perpetrating a bomb hoax.

He denies all allegations.

The process continues.

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