FORMER soldier Daniel Khalife allegedly escaped from prison by strapping himself to the underside of a food delivery vehicle using a material “which may have been from bed sheets”, a court heard.
The 21-year-old was remanded in custody after being caught on Saturday night – he appeared Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday, charged with escaping custody at HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday.
He was arrested on a canal towpath in west London at 10.41am on Saturday after being pulled off a push bike by a plain-clothes counter-terrorism officer.
Prior to his alleged escape, Khalife had been on remand at Wandsworth Prison after being charged with terror offences in January.
Before a short hearing, he appeared in the dock flanked by two police officers and a dock officer.
Khalife entered the courtroom wearing a grey jumper and jogging bottoms and spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth.
Detailing the allegation against the defendant, prosecutor Thomas Williams said the former soldier is alleged to have escaped on the underside of a food delivery vehicle.
Mr Williams said Khalife is accused of strapping himself to the lorry using “material which may have been from bed sheets”.
Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram was told the material was found underneath the vehicle by police, with clips at each end and marks which were consistent with someone having been there.
The court also heard that, when Khalife was arrested, he had a bag containing cash and a mobile phone with him and he also appeared on gay dating app Grindr according to a source.
Police checked gardens, stopped and inspected cars, and asked residents for their IDs throughout Saturday morning following the alleged escape.
On Sunday, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk said around 40 inmates of HMP Wandsworth have been moved out of the Category B jail.
Mr Ikram told the defendant he will next appear at the Old Bailey on September 29.
