Except this time, 21-year-old former soldier and terror and spy suspect Daniel Abed Khalife had managed to strap himself under the vehicle, evading the beleaguered jail's security and becoming only the seventh prisoner to escape from prison in England and Wales in the past five years.
Khalife had secured himself a position working in the prison canteen, considered a plum role for somebody who could be trusted. But it was also a place where deliveries would routinely take place, bringing in food to the 1,500plus inmates and staff at the south London jail first built in 1851.
Police were not called by the prison until 8.15am and the lorry not stopped until it had travelled about three miles in the morning rush hour to the nearby Upper Richmond Road, by which time Khalife had disappeared. Although not described as a danger to the public, Commander Dominic Murphy, the Met's counter terrorism commander, emphasised that the young man "has military training" and that "we have some of the best military training in the UK". That may have contributed to his willingness to stage a risky breakout attempt.
This story is from the September 08, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the September 08, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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