Daniel Khalife: Ex-British soldier who admitted to breaking out of HMP Wandsworth found guilty of spying for Iran
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A jury found Khalife guilty of collecting information to hand over to Iran that was described as being useful to an enemy, including a list of special forces soldiers, breaching the Official Secrets Act and Terrorism Act. However, the 23-yea-rold was acquitted of perpetrating a bomb hoax at his barracks.
Khalife hit the headlines in September 2023 after he broke free from HMP Wandsworth while awaiting trial, sparking a highly-publicised manhunt for the ex-soldier. Halfway through his trial, Khalife admitted to the prison escape, which he conducted by strapping himself to the underside of a lorry making food deliveries to the prison.
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The jury took 23 hours to deliberate and return the guilty verdict. The Crown prosecution Service welcomed the verdict and said that Khalife had put the life of soldiers at risk and could have “prejudiced” national security.
Bethan David, from the CPS, said: “As a serving soldier of the British Army Daniel Khalife was employed and entrusted to uphold and protect the national security of this country. But, for purposes of his own, Daniel Khalife used his employment to undermine national security.
“He surreptitiously sought out and obtained copies of secret and sensitive information which he knew were protected and passed these on to individuals he believed to be acting on behalf of the Iranian state. The sharing of the information could have exposed military personnel to serious harm, or a risk to life, and prejudiced the safety and security of the United Kingdom.
“The prosecution was able to use mobile phone evidence, notes written by Khalife himself and CCTV footage to piece together and demonstrate that Khalife had gathered and shared much of this classified information, accepted hundreds of pounds for his efforts and even travelled to Turkey as part of his unlawful conduct.
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Hide Ad“It is against the law to collate and share secret and sensitive information for a purpose against the interests of the United Kingdom. Such hostile and illegal activities jeopardise the national security of the United Kingdom, and the CPS will always seek to prosecute anyone that carries out counter state threats.”
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