‘A dangerous fool’: Daniel Khalife sentenced to 14 years in prison
The former British soldier Daniel Khalife has been sentenced to more than 14 years in custody.
The 23-year-old was sentenced to 14 years and three months for spying for Iran and escaping from prison at Woolwich Crown Court today.
Last November, a jury at Woolwich Crown Court found him guilty of breaching the Official Secrets Act and the Terrorism Act by passing on information to Iran while he was serving in the army.
He pleaded guilty mid-trial to escaping from Wandsworth prison, a charge he previously denied.
He was cleared of carrying out a bomb hoax at an Army barracks in Staffordshire.
Justice Cheema-Grubb called Khalife “a dangerous fool”, before she passed sentence, saying he handed over “genuine military information” to Iranian handlers.
An investigation into Khalife began in November 2021 after he anonymously contacted MI5 twice that month to say that he had established contact with Iranian agents and wanted to become a ‘double agent’.
The details were passed to the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command which identified Khalife as the caller and discovered he was a soldier in the Army based at Staffordshire Barracks.
Khalife was arrested in January 2022, and cops seized various devices and documents from his room.
An ensuing investigation found Khalife was in possession of various sensitive documents and information – including details of soldiers who were attached to highly sensitive military units.
They also found evidence that Khalife had made contact with Iranian agents and had passed sensitive military information to them over a two-and-a-half year period.
Khalife was due to be charged with offences in January 2023, however he was reported as missing by his Army unit in early January 2023.
When his room was searched, what appeared to be a potential improvised explosive device was found, along with a note, indicating that Khalife had left as he feared he was going to be charged when he returned on bail.
Khalife was spotted at a leisure centre in Staffordshire on January 26, 2023, and was arrested and charged.
In September 2023, Khalife sparked a high profile manhunt after he broke out of HMP Wandsworth where he was awaiting trial.
The court heard that he escaped from the prison by hanging a makeshift sling under a food delivery lorry. He was recaptured on a canal towpath by a plainclothed detective three days later.
Commander Dominic Murphy, Head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command said: “This sentence reflects the gravity of the offences committed by Khalife.
The threat to the UK from states such as Iran is very serious, so for a soldier in the Army to be sharing sensitive military material and information with them is extremely reckless and dangerous.
“This outcome and sentence should serve as a warning to others that the illegal sharing of information in this way will be treated extremely seriously by security services and police, and we will use the full force of the law against those who put the UK’s security at risk.”
Pictured top: Former British soldier Daniel Khalife has been sentenced to more than 14 years in custody (Picture: The Met)