Daniel Khalife: The ‘ultimate Walter Mitty character’, from MI5 double agent pitch to audacious prison escape
Former soldier led police on a 75-hour manhunt after escape from Wandsworth prison and has now been convicted of spying for Iran
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An ordinary teenager from the suburbs of London spun fantasies in his mind that led to him spying for Iran and then pitching himself as a double agent to British security services before pulling off an audacious prison escape that would not be out of place in a film script.
Described as “the ultimate Walter Mitty character” by police, Daniel Khalife was a normal boy – but he was also especially egotistical and manipulative, which led to him playing a cynical game that ended up having a significant impact on the real world.
The 23-year-old has now been convicted at Woolwich Crown Court of spying for Iran, after he previously admitted having escaped from HMP Wandsworth in September last year because he wanted to be kept in a high-security unit at HMP Belmarsh, where he believed he would be safer, away from “sex offenders” and “terrorists”.
And, in a strange twist, it appears that the former soldier was successful in that quest. It is understood that he was not returned to Wandsworth prison, but instead was locked up in a category A high-security prison in London as a consequence of his actions. Days after his escape, he appeared at the Old Bailey via a video link from HMP Belmarsh.
Khalife was also cleared on Thursday of carrying out a bomb hoax.
Neighbours in the quiet street where Khalife grew up have told The Independent of their disbelief when news of his prison escape initially broke.
One woman – who lives on the road in Kingston, in southwest London, where Khalife, his twin sister and his mother lived for around a decade after moving from Marylebone, Westminster – said: “He was just an ordinary, normal teenager. When I saw him on the street he said ‘Hello’ and was polite. He’s a nice, sweet boy – I never thought he would do something like that.”
Another local family was similarly shocked and surprised, with the father saying: “We had no indication that he was that way inclined.”
The entire Khalife family, in fact, were known within the neighbourhood for being introverted, reserved and quiet, rarely seen out and about apart from when they were driving to school or walking their small, white dog. “They kept themselves to themselves,” was a phrase that was repeatedly applied to the trio. “I don’t think anyone really knew them,” said another woman.
One father who lives locally described them as “habitual TV watchers”. He said: “From 9am to midnight, the three of them would watch TV all day – never socialise with us or mingle.”
The neighbour did recall one memorable incident when, as a teenager and on leave from the army, Khalife was in an “angry” mood. The windows of the family’s house were open and “he was just effing and blinding at his mum”, loud enough that locals, including young children, could hear. “I shouted up, ‘Please don’t use that language,’” said the neighbour, adding that Khalife shot back self-pityingly: “I get shouted at at work and when I get home I get shouted at.”
Former colleagues who knew Khalife, whom they describe as being 6ft 2in tall and well built, told The Independent that he was an aggressive character, quick to take offence, and had got involved in a number of fights with colleagues.
Khalife left Teddington School aged 16 to join the British army as a junior soldier, initially training at the Foundation College in Harrogate, Yorkshire, before moving on to Blandford Camp in Dorset, having decided to join the Royal Corps of Signals.
Two former soldiers in the Royal Corps of Signals said that Khalife had claimed to be a survivalist and went on solitary overnight camping expeditions when he was off duty. They said he was someone “who took his fitness seriously” and was vain about his looks. During training, Khalife, along with others, took part in basic field exercises, which involved living off the land while on operations, and that he appeared to enjoy proving he was tougher than his colleagues.
The pair also described Khalife as someone who sought attention and sometimes “played the clown”. They recalled an incident in which he stole a senior officer’s epaulettes, put them on his uniform, and wanted to post photos of himself wearing them on social media.
Khalife boasted that he would join a signals unit in the Special Forces and was preparing for the entry requirements, according to the duo. There is, however, no evidence of him officially embarking on this path, with the former soldiers viewing him as “a bit of a fantasist”.
This sentiment echoes remarks made by the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command. Commander Dominic Murphy said: “Whilst some element of what he was doing seems to be almost a fantasy that he had formed in his own head, the reality is he was having a very, very substantial impact. So he is, I think, the ultimate Walter Mitty character. The problem is, he's a Walter Mitty character that was having an extremely significant impact in the real world.”
Addressing Khalife’s possible motivations, Commander Murphy cited ego and “the thrill of the deception” as key factors in the “cynical game” being played by the former soldier – which involved pursuing his claimed desire to be a double agent for MI5, as well as his “pretty audacious” prison escape.
However, Khalife’s approach was simultaneously “amateurish”, added Commander Murphy, with Khalife’s own barrister, Gul Nawaz Hussain KC, describing his double agent plot as “hapless” and “sometimes bordering on the slapstick”, more “Scooby-Doo” than “007”.