Daniel Khalife ‘bought £1.09 espresso at McDonald’s after breaking out of jail’ | 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 in south London while on remand on the morning of September 6, 2023, by tying himself to the underside of a food delivery van.

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

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

Khalife was eventually arrested on September 9 on a Grand Union Canal footpath, telling officers his “body hurt” after using a truck to escape from prison.

After his arrest, Khalife also told officers he ‘never thought’ it was a crime to escape from prison, Woolwich Crown Court heard.

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

“You see the floor going faster and faster and faster, the truck is shaking and it’s hot,” he said.

Khalife told the court he did not realize how “incredibly dangerous” it was until the vehicle entered Trinity Road in Wandsworth, where the speed limit increased.

When asked why he had supposedly escaped, Khalife replied: “I can’t tell you. There’s a reason I was so calm when the cop arrested me. I could have jumped in the water, I could have fucked him. Everything went according to plan.’

He added: ‘If I really, really wanted to go into hiding I would have gone to Clapham (station)… the furthest train possible, go to a certain country and disappear.’

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

Khalife complained to the court about the “terrible” photo of him that circulated during the manhunt, the court was told.

He also told officers he regretted being a “burden” to the country when he heard about trucks being stopped and delays at airports due to extra security checks in the wake of his alleged escape.

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

He also faces charges contrary to the Official Secrets Act and the Terrorism Act, and is accused of attempting to commit a bomb attack.

He denies all accusations.

The process continues.

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