Daniel Khalife, a 23-year-old former British soldier, has been found guilty of espionage and terrorism offences after passing sensitive military information to Iranian agents.
The conviction, delivered at Woolwich Crown Court on November 28, follows a lengthy investigation by the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, according to a press release.
Daniel Khalife
Khalife’s activities, described as “extremely reckless and dangerous” by Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, posed significant risks to UK security.
“The threat to the UK from states such as Iran is very serious, so for a soldier in the Army to be sharing sensitive military material and information with them is extremely reckless and dangerous,” said Commander Murphy. “I hope this serves as a warning that the illegal sharing of information in this way will be treated extremely seriously by security services and police, and we will use the full force of the law against those who put the UK’s security at risk.”
The investigation began in November 2021 when Khalife anonymously contacted MI5 twice, claiming to have established contact with Iranian agents and expressing a desire to act as a “double agent.”
Further inquiries revealed that Khalife was a serving soldier based at Staffordshire Barracks and in possession of sensitive documents, including details about soldiers from highly classified units.
Arrested in January 2022, Khalife was found to have shared information with Iranian agents over a two-and-a-half-year period. Despite being charged in early 2023, he absconded from his unit, leaving behind a note and a suspected improvised explosive device. He was arrested later that month but escaped custody in September 2023 while awaiting trial at HMP Wandsworth.
Khalife’s three-day escape sparked a nationwide manhunt involving hundreds of officers and support from agencies across the UK. He was eventually apprehended in Northolt.
During his trial, Khalife pleaded guilty to escaping custody. On November 28, he was convicted of violating the Official Secrets Act 1911 by passing information to Iran and of offences under the Terrorism Act 2000 related to eliciting information useful for terrorism. He was found not guilty of creating a bomb hoax at Staffordshire Barracks.
Khalife is set to be sentenced on December 12. Commander Murphy praised the investigative and operational efforts of law enforcement, adding, “Thanks to some brilliant police work – here in the Met, but also across the country – coupled with the fantastic support of the public, we were able to find and arrest him to make sure he faced justice.”
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Life in Colchester?
MCTC too lenient.
I hope Bellmarsh. Espionage and Terror offences too, this is not just an AWOL soldier.
MCTC is not called a prison. It really focusses on rehabilitating and retraining errant service personnel and integrating them back to military duty. Of course some (D Coy) are set for discharge as they are not worth rehabilitating. I don’t think a civilian court would order a convicted serviceman to be sent to MCTC although Khalife may already be an ex-serviceman.