An old british army A soldier escaped from a London prison by hanging on to the straps of a food delivery truck while wearing a chef’s uniform.

Suspected terrorist Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, was being held on remand after being accused of planting fake bombs on a military base.

He fled from HMP Wandsworth at 7.50am on Wednesday after prison officers raised the alarm with metropolitan police.

A nationwide manhunt was launched, putting airports and seaports on alert amid fears he might flee the country.

Holidaymakers have reported delays at airports including Heathrow and Gatwick, while the port of Dover experienced queues at the border due to a “police matter”.

Khalife, who was being held on charges related to terrorism and breaches of the Official Secrets Act, was working in the kitchen and wearing a chef’s uniform when he escaped. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, red and white checkered pants and brown steel-toed boots.

He is believed to have snuck out of the kitchen and clung to the bottom of a delivery van to escape.

The Met released a photo of Khalife with dark hair, describing him as slim and around 6 feet 2 inches tall.

Police said Khalife had links to the Kingston area and believed he was most likely staying in the London area for the time being, with members of the public urged not to approach him.

Khalife appeared at the Old Bailey at the end of July where he denied the charges against him, including a bomb hoax at an RAF base.

He allegedly placed “three cartridges with electrical wires on a desk in his home” with the intention of making someone believe that they were “likely to explode or ignite and thus cause injury or harm.” property damage “.

He is also accused of obtaining or attempting to obtain information likely to be useful to a terrorist on August 2, 2021, and of violating the State Secrets Act by collecting information likely to be useful to an enemy between May 1, 2019 and January 6, 2022.

A trial date was set for November 13 at Woolwich Crown Court.

Khalife reportedly joined the British Army in 2018 and worked as a computer networks engineer where he was based at the Ministry of Defense’s Stafford Army Base, also known as Beacon Barracks.

A court previously heard he disappeared from the barracks on January 2 after the alleged bomb hoax, before being “arrested in or near his car” 24 days later.

The Ministry of Defense confirmed that he was discharged from the army in May this year due to the accusations against him.

His escape from Wandsworth Prison had the effect of disrupting court hearings for other defendants at the Old Bailey, including that of a suspected murderer.

A prison officer told Judge Alexia Durran via video call: “We have an operational emergency and no movement in the facility. No bodies are being moved due to the seriousness of the situation.

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk held an urgent call with the prison governor and senior Prison Service staff on Wednesday afternoon to seek assurances on what is being done to keep the prison safe.

Questions are now being raised as to why Khalife was being held on remand in a Category B prison, given the seriousness of his charges. Defendants accused of terrorism are usually placed in a Category A prison, such as HMP Belmarsh, in south-east London.

Meanwhile, Labor demanded the government “urgently” explain Khalife’s escape and ensure there was no “wider risk” to the public.

New shadow justice secretary Shabana Mahmood said Rishi Sunak must “take back control” as the search for the terror suspect continues.

“I think the government needs to answer some very serious questions,” she told TV stations.

“We know that the criminal justice system, after 13 years of Conservative government, is in a state of disrepair. We know there are huge problems in prisons and particularly in places of detention.”

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s counter-terrorism command, said: “We have a team of officers who are carrying out extensive and urgent investigations to locate and arrest Khalife as quickly as possible.

“However, the public can also help us and if anyone sees Khalife or has any information on where he might be, please call 999 or immediately.

“I would also like to reassure the public that we have no information indicating, nor any reason to believe, that Khalife poses a threat to the general public, but our advice if you see him is to not approach him and to call 999 immediately.”