Jurors have been shown CCTV footage of the moment a former British soldier allegedly made his escape from Wandsworth prison underneath a food delivery lorry.
Daniel Khalife, 23, was being held on remand – accused of passing secrets to Iran – when he allegedly used a makeshift sling made of knotted bedsheets to cling on to the underside of the Bidfood truck while he was on kitchen duty.
Woolwich Crown Court saw footage of him leaving his cell on the morning of 6 September last year, wearing a blue T-shirt and dark trousers, before pulling a catering trolley.
The white Mercedes sprinter van is then seen outside the Category B prison in southwest London before driving away.
Khalife was discovered to be missing during a routine headcount, sparking a nationwide manhunt, the court has heard.
CCTV footage shown in court captured his movements while he was on the run, showing him walking past the White Cross pub in Richmond carrying a Waitrose bag on the day of his alleged escape.
Another clip shows Khalife inside a branch of Mountain Warehouse, where he looks straight at the camera before slipping a blue cap into his bag.
The following day he bought a Samsung mobile phone for £89 from the Gift Shop in Hammersmith, west London, and was seen in M&S in Kew Retail Park, where he bought jogging bottoms and two shirts for £35.60, the court heard.
He was also captured on CCTV in a branch of Sainsbury’s, where he bought a £10 cash mobile phone top-up, the jury was told.
On 8 September he was seen looking at a story about his alleged escape in a newspaper, which he buys, while on 9 September, he bought a £1.09 espresso from McDonald’s and changed his clothes in the toilets.
He was arrested on the footpath of the Grand Union Canal in Northolt later that morning.
Khalife was being held on remand over allegations he collected and shared sensitive information with Iranian intelligence agents while he was serving with the Royal Signals, based at Beacon Barracks, in Stafford, between May 2019 and January 2022.
The court heard a handwritten note found in his cell had banking details along with the name of his Iranian handler, “David Smith”, and a phone number.
Two days after his alleged escape from prison, he messaged an account on the encrypted Telegram app, which is linked to Smith message, saying: “I wait,” the court heard.
Read more from the trial:
Soldier who allegedly broke out of jail ‘contacted Iranian agent over Facebook’
Khalife picked up £1,500 from Iranian handlers in dog poo bag
Khalife, from Kingston, southwest London, denies a charge of committing an act prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state under the Official Secrets Act between 1 May 2019 and 6 January 2022.
He has also pleaded not guilty to a charge under the Terrorism Act of eliciting information about armed forces personnel on 2 August 2021, perpetrating a bomb hoax on or before 2 January 2023 and escaping from prison on 6 September last year.
The trial continues.
