Who is Daniel Khalife? Profile of prisoner who escaped

Daniel Khalife - who was for a time this week Britain's most wanted man - was born in Westminster in 2001, along with his twin sister.

He is British and has Lebanese heritage on his father's side. His parents split up when he was young.

Growing up, Mr Khalife's family life was in and around the south-west London borough of Kingston upon Thames.

He attended Teddington School, a local mixed comprehensive with good results, and left after his GCSEs in 2018.

People who remember him from the time who have spoken to BBC News have not recalled anything that would have made them think he would end up a terror suspect on the run.

One former school friend said he was quite a funny character, just a normal teenager - and certainly not badly behaved.

Mr Khalife was also remembered as a talented runner - a natural gift that may have been in use during his prison break-out.

"He just sort of got on with it like most of us did," one school friend told BBC News.

"He had social skills. He wasn't particularly socially withdrawn or anything. He had friends.

"[Since the prison break] Everyone's just had the same reaction [of shock]... It was just mind-blowing. It wasn't expected at all."

Another said ahead of his recapture: "Some funny stories I could tell you... One thing I will tell you though, he's not a terrorist. He doesn't know his arse from his elbow.

"He was the 100m school champion... they're not catching him."

After school, he joined the Army, becoming a private in the Royal Signals Regiment, based at MOD Stafford.

The facility is home to some of the British military's most sophisticated technology and communications operations and it includes the Defence Electronics and Components Agency.

There, for a time at least, he continued to run and joined a military family running group.

He was also into computer gaming - using the brand icon of the makers of Grand Theft Auto as his profile picture in a number of social media profiles.

Manhunt: The search for Daniel Khalife

Watch how the story of Daniel Khalife's escape unfolded on BBC iPlayer.

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One former fellow serviceman told BBC News that Mr Khalife tried to "be the joker" during basic training.

"He was either making funny remarks or trying to be cocky or stuff like that with the training staff," he recalled. "Just like when kids mess around at school with teachers really."

Outside of Army life he seemed to be a normal young man. BBC News has seen one video of him taken in a pub near where he was based on a night out.

What happened between 2019 and his arrest and charge in 2023 is not clear - and may only become so if Mr Khalife is found and tried for the original offences he was facing.

In January this year, he was brought before Westminster Magistrates' Court - which deals with the initial stages of all terrorism cases in England and Wales.

The court heard that the 21-year-old was facing two allegations.

Prosecutors alleged that in August 2021 he obtained information about members of the armed forces from the Ministry of Defence Joint Personnel Administration System - and that the information was of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

That is a relatively minor terrorism offence because the maximum jail sentence is 12 months.

He was also accused of a bomb hoax almost four weeks before his arrest. The court was told that he had allegedly placed three canisters with wires on a desk in his accommodation, intending people to believe the contraption was a real explosive device.

After that appearance in court, there was a delay in his case being sent to crown court while another far more serious allegation was prepared.

Mr Khalife is now accused of committing an act "prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state", contrary to the Official Secrets Act.

It's alleged that between May 2019 and January 2022 he obtained, collected, recorded, published, or communicated information which was useful to an enemy - a spying offence.

The BBC understands that the allegation relates to Iran.

At his last court appearance in July, Mr Khalife formally pleaded not guilty to all three allegations and a judge at the Old Bailey said he would face a jury trial in November.

Whether that trial will go ahead as planned, in light of his recapture on Saturday, is now unclear.