How police closed in on Daniel Khalife - in maps and graphics

BBC Wandsworth prison viewBBC

Terror suspect Daniel Khalife escaped from the kitchens of Wandsworth prison on the morning of Wednesday 6 September.

The 21-year-old former soldier had joined the British Army in 2019 and was discharged following his arrest. Mr Khalife is accused of trying to spy for an enemy state, understood to be Iran, and plotting a bomb hoax.

His planned escape is thought to have begun when he attached himself to the underside of a food delivery lorry he had access to as part of his kitchen job.

An aerial view of HMP Wandsworth and its exit points
An aerial view of HMP Wandsworth and its exit points

After leaving Wandsworth prison in south-west London, and through security checkpoints, the lorry made its way north towards the river, and then west towards Putney.

Within an hour, officers had pulled the truck over for examination. Mr Khalife was gone, but straps were found underneath the truck.

The Met began reviewing CCTV footage and used a helicopter to search areas in west and south-west London.

Watch: CCTV of lorry used in prison escape
A map showing the route the lorry took after it left Wandsworth prison

Late on Thursday night, officers searched Richmond Park, a 2,500-acre area south-west of the prison.

Two helicopters were used. It is also thought that infra-red technology was used to identify body heat.

The search was not based on specific information but Mr Khalife was known to have links in nearby Kingston-upon-Thames.

Police confirmed on Friday afternoon they were investigating a sighting of Mr Khalife. He was reportedly seen walking away from the BidFood van near the Wandsworth roundabout.

The hunt later appeared to focus on Chiswick in west London, after sightings of the missing prisoner were reported to the police by members of the public.

Map showing Wandsworth prison and Northolt

Police said their investigation "took a different course" on Friday night, when officers conducted an "intelligence-led search at a residential premises" in the Richmond area.

While Mr Khalife was not found there, the force received a number of calls from the public with sightings of the suspect nearby.

The Met said on Saturday morning at about 09:00 BST it was focusing on "intensive search activity" efforts in and around the Chiswick area, after Mr Khalife had been spotted.

He was detained just over an hour later at 10:41 BST - about 14 miles from the prison - after a plain clothed officer pulled him from a bicycle on the canal towpath in the Northolt area, in north-west London.

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Police hunt for Daniel Khalife

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