Daniel Khalife: Soldier accused of prison escape delivered package to Iranian agents in Turkey, court hears

A former British soldier who is accused of escaping from prison while on remand charged with passing secrets to Iran "delivered a package" to his handlers on a trip to Turkey, a court has heard.

Daniel Khalife, 23, is accused of collecting and sharing sensitive information with foreign agents over more than two years between May 2019 and January 2022 after joining the army just before his 17th birthday.

The court heard that months into his first post with the Royal Signals, based at Beacon Barracks, in Stafford, he offered to stay in the military for more than 25 years and do what they asked.

He contacted MI6 saying he wanted to be a "double agent" and later told police his contact with the Iranians was all a double bluff, a jury has been told.

Woolwich Crown Court has heard he picked up £1,500 in a dog poo bag from Mill Hill park in Barnet, north London, in August 2019, making a second £1,000 cash collection from Kensal Green Cemetery, in North Kensington, in October 2021.

Prosecutor Mark Haywood KC said Khalife flew with Turkish Airlines and stayed at the Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel between 4 and 10 August 2020, having originally planned to go on to Iran.

Pictures found on his phone show him inside and outside the hotel, while in an audio message Khalife apparently reported what happened to a third party, the court heard.

Khalife, whose mother is from Iran, said they "were supposed to meet in your country" but "we went to Turkey and the plan kind of went sour, um, they didn't plan it properly".

"I delivered a package for them," he added.

The prosecutor said it "clearly shows that one of the reasons or one of the charges taken by Khalife on this visit was to deliver a package", and that he wanted to "hand over information in whatever form to his interlocutors in Iran".

On his return to the UK, Khalife took pictures of a Selex Sentinel phone handset, hardware made for use by the UK's most specialist forces, and apparently sent it to an Iranian agent calling himself "David Smith".

In one chat, Smith said, "We are so loyal to our friends. We can work together a lot of years", and Khalife demonstrated his "long term support and commitment", said Mr Heywood.

Khalife replied: "Absolutely, I won't leave the military until you tell me to. 25+ years."

He also talked of having stolen a unit that enables and marshals cryptography and was told by Smith: "We'll pay you what you want in our country. We look forward to seeing you in Tehran pal."

The prosecutor said by this stage Khalife's contact with the Iranians had "escalated" and he was "delivering material… a telephone, crypto, names of personnel and details to order for as long as they wanted".

The court heard he was deployed to Fort Hood in Texas between 3 February and 30 April 2021, where he was given "NATO Secret" clearance, the second highest level below "Cosmic Top Secret".

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Mr Heywood said he remained in contact with his Iranian handlers even while he was in the US, where it appeared to escalate, and continued on his return to the UK as he gathered more information.

This is said to have included a spreadsheet showing the promotion results from corporal to sergeant for the British Army for 2021 to 2022, including details of special forces soldiers.

Jurors have heard that once the police had caught up with Khalife, and he had been released on bail, he absconded from his barracks, leaving canisters and wires on his desk, to give the appearance of an explosive device and cause alarm.

When he had been remanded into custody at Wandsworth prison pending trial, he allegedly escaped and went on the run but was caught after a "short but intense and nationwide search", a jury was told.

Khalife, who grew up in Kingston, southwest London, denies a charge of committing an act prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state under the Official Secrets Act between 1 May 2019 and 6 January 2022, alleging he gathered information that might be useful to an enemy of the UK.

He has also pleaded not guilty to a charge under the Terrorism Act of eliciting information about armed forces personnel on 2 August 2021, perpetrating a bomb hoax on or before 2 January 2023 and escaping from prison on 21 July last year.

The trial continues.

(c) Sky News 2024: Daniel Khalife: Soldier accused of prison escape delivered package to Iranian agents