Second man charged with helping Daniel Khalife after escape

Daniel Khalife pictured after his arrest in September 2023

A second man has been charged with helping former soldier Daniel Khalife after he escaped from prison.

Adeel Khan, 30, from Waltham Forest, east London, is accused of assisting Khalife after he fled HMP Wandsworth in September 2023.

Khalife was convicted of spying for Iran and pleaded guilty to escaping the prison by strapping himself to the underside of a food delivery van. He was arrested in London following a four-day manhunt.

Khan - who is also charged with possession of a phone in prison - is due to attend Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, the Metropolitan Police said.

He was charged via postal requisition earlier this month, the force added.

Last week, another man - 25-year-old Imran Chowdhury - pleaded not guilty to assisting an escaped prisoner. He is accused of going to a cashpoint with Khalife and withdrawing £400 for him during the escape.

Chowdhury, from Chingford, east London, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court and was bailed to appear at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 4 February.

Imran Chowdhury leaving court last week

Khalife, 23, was found guilty of spying for Iran after a trial at Woolwich Crown Court in November last year.

He had already admitted escaping from Wandsworth Prison, but was cleared of carrying out a bomb hoax at the army barracks where he had been based.

Khalife will be sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on 3 February.