Ex-Staffordshire soldier Daniel Khalife jailed over spying for Iran and prison escape

Daniel Khalife
-Credit:PA


A former Staffordshire soldier was branded a "dangerous fool" by a judge. Daniel Khalife has been jailed for 14 years and three months for spying for Iran and making an escape from prison as he awaited trial.

The 23-year-old was serving in the British Army when he “exposed military personnel to serious harm” by collecting sensitive information. The secrets he compiled were then passed on to agents of the Middle Eastern country for cash.

During his trial, Khalife claimed he'd wanted a career as a double agent to help the British intelligence services. However prosecutors proved he was playing a “a cynical game”, the Mirror reports.

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In September 2023, while awaiting trial, Khalife escaped from HMP Wandsworth. He got out of the category B prison in south-west London by clinging to the underside of a food delivery truck. A nationwide manhunt was launched, with Khalife later being found on a canal towpath by a plainclothes detective days later.

At Woolwich Crown Court, jurors found that Khalife, previously based at MOD Stafford, had breached the Official Secrets Act and the Terrorism Act. He had already admitted to escaping from prison, and was cleared of carrying out a bomb hoax.

Khalife was sentenced to 14 years and three months on Monday, February 3, and was remanded into immediate custody. He was also ordered to pay £10,000 towards court costs.

Addressing the defendant during the sentencing, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said it was a “shame” that the former soldier had spent two years in contact with agents of Iran after joining the army at a commendably young age. She continued: "What a shame, then, that starting in May 2019, shortly after you had completed your basic training... you spent more than two years in contact with agents of Iran, a country whose interests do not align with and at times threaten those of the United Kingdom."

Justice Cheema-Grubb added: "You had the makings of an exemplary soldier, instead you were a dangerous fool."