Daniel Khalife has been sentenced to 14 years and three months in prison for spying for Iran and for his elaborate plot that saw him escape jail. In September 2023, the 23-year-old clung to the underside of a delivery truck to escape category B prison HMP Wandsworth, southwest London. His escape sparked a nationwide manhunt to find the prisoner, who was eventually caught three days later along a canal towpath in Northolt, Middlesex, by a plainclothes detective.

The convict had been serving in the British Army when he "exposed military personnel to serious harm" by collecting sensitive information and passing it to agents of the Middle Eastern country. He was paid in cash for the secret information and told handlers he would stay in the military for 25-plus years for them. During his trial, prosecutors said Khalife played "a cynical game", claiming he wanted a career as a double agent to help the British intelligence services, when in fact he gathered "a very large body of restricted and classified material".

In November, jurors at Woolwich Crown Court found that Khalife had breached the Official Secrets Act and the Terrorism Act. He was cleared of carrying out a bomb hoax and had already admitted during his trial to escaping from Wandsworth prison. Police described Khalife as the "ultimate Walter Mitty character that was having a significant impact on the real world". Khalife told jurors he wanted to prove bosses wrong after being told his Iranian heritage could stop him from working in military intelligence, and he came up with his elaborate double agent plot after watching the TV spy thriller Homeland.

An inmate who lived alongside Khalife at HMP Wandsworth said his plans to escape prison were well-known inside. He reportedly didn't even keep it a secret from wardens, and chillingly told them: "Just watch me". Speaking with the Mirror in September 2023, the inmate said: "He always used to brag about escaping. It was an open secret." After escaping, he was caught on his bike wearing a white T-shirt and dark shorts and was soon back behind bars.

The escaped prisoner was clutching his belongings in a Waitrose carrier bag and smiled as he was handcuffed with a cable tie, a witness said. Within minutes police in a dozen vehicles had descended on the scene. Khalife had been held on remand in Wandsworth where he had been accused of terror and spying offences. The inmate who served time alongside Khalife told the Mirror: "He always used to brag about escaping from prison. He used to say 'Just watch me!' It was an open secret because he was so blatant about it. I'm surprised none of the guards reported him. Someone is going to get it in the neck for this.".

Khalife joined the Army in 2018, two weeks before his 17th birthday, and served with the Royal Corps of Signals. In 2021 he had secretly gathered the names of serving soldiers, including those in the special forces. He took a photo of a handwritten list of 15 of them, having been sent an internal spreadsheet of promotions in June 2021. Prosecutors believed he sent the list to Iran before deleting any evidence.

After his arrest, he told police he had wanted to offer himself to UK security agencies all along, having emailed MI6 as early as 2019. In November 2021, he made an anonymous call to the MI5 public reporting line, confessing to having been in contact with Iran for more than two years. He offered to help the British security services, and said he wanted to return to his normal life. Defending Khalife during his trial, Gul Nawaz Hussain KC said the double agent plot was "hapless" and "sometimes bordering on the slapstick", more Scooby-Doo than James Bond or Homeland.

Prosecutors said Khalife prepared a bomb hoax at his Staffordshire barracks in January 2023, but the trial heard how a soldier who arrived in the room pulled wires out of the device to prove it was not real. A bomb disposal unit was called after police attended and looked at the device several days later. In mitigation for Khalife, Gul Nawaz Hussain KC told the court that Khalife's escape from Wandsworth exposed 'horrific failings' within the prison system which are now being addressed. Mr Hussain said his escape attempt was "basic" and involved carabiners and a sling.

He suggested Khaife had escaped because he was scared of being transferred to category A Belmarsh Prison. Sentencing on Monday, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said: "In my judgement, you did not start out intentionally to harm the interests of the United Kingdom.". She added that he acted "because of a selfish desire to show off". She added that his "dangerous and fantastical plan demonstrates your immaturity".