Former soldier Daniel Khalife has been found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court of spying for Iran but cleared of carrying out a bomb hoax.
The jury at Woolwich Crown Court convicted Khalife on Thursday (November 28) of breaching the Official Secrets Act and Terrorism Act after 23 hours of deliberation.
Khalife, wearing a blue shirt and pale trousers, calmly replaced his glasses as the verdicts were read out and did not show any emotion.
He had pleaded guilty part way through his trial to escaping from HMP Wandsworth in September 2023.
Bethan David, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said after the verdict: “As a serving soldier of the British Army Daniel Khalife was employed and entrusted to uphold and protect the national security of this country.
“But, for purposes of his own, Daniel Khalife used his employment to undermine national security.”
Daniel Khalife showed no emotion as the verdit was delivered (Image: PA Images)
Daniel Khalife was caught after escaping from HMP Wandsworth in September last year (Image: PA Images)
Ms David said Khalife obtained copies of secret, sensitive information which he knew was protected and passed it on to individuals he believed to be acting on behalf of the Iranian state.
She added: “The sharing of the information could have exposed military personnel to serious harm, or a risk to life, and prejudiced the safety and security of the United Kingdom.”
The prosecution used mobile phone evidence, notes written by Khalife himself and CCTV footage to prove he had gathered and shared classified information, for which he was paid hundreds of pounds. His unlawful conduct even took him to Turkey.
Prosecutors told his trial he played “a cynical game”, claiming he wanted a career as a double agent to help the British Intelligence Services, when in fact he gathered “a very large body of restricted and classified material”.
Police described him as the “ultimate Walter Mitty character” who was “having a significant impact on the real world”.
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Daniel Khalife visits a newsagent’s in Chiswick during his escape (Image: PA Images/MPS)
Khalife created and passed on fake documents supposedly from MPs, senior military officials and the security services – but also sent genuine army documents.
Having reached out to a “middle-man” by sending him a Facebook message, Khalife told the Iranians he would stay undercover in the British Army for “25-plus years” for them.
He joined the British Army in 2018, two weeks before his 17th birthday, and served with the Royal Corps of Signals. In 2021, Khalife secretly gathered the names of serving soldiers, including those in the special forces.
He took a photo of a handwritten list of 15 of them, having been sent an internal spreadsheet of promotions in June 2021.
After his arrest, he told police he had wanted to offer himself to UK security agencies all along, having emailed MI6 as early as 2019.
Khalife told jurors he wanted to prove bosses wrong after being told his Iranian heritage could stop him working in military intelligence, and came up with his elaborate double agent plot after watching the TV spy thriller Homeland.
Daniel Khalife escaped from HMP Wandsworth (Image: PA Images)
Defence barrister, Gul Nawaz Hussain KC, said his double agent plot was “hapless” and “sometimes bordering on the slapstick”, more “Scooby-Doo” than James Bond or Homeland.
He escaped from HMP Wandsworth in south-west London by clinging to the underside of a food delivery truck last September and made one last attempt to contact the Iranians before he was found, sending a Telegram message which said simply: “I wait.”
Concern he would try a similar stunt during his trial was so high that during his evidence he was brought to and from the witness box in handcuffs.
Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, said of Khalife’s crimes: “Ego is a factor. I’ve got no doubt he’s got an uncanny ability to manipulate others.
“I think he probably enjoyed the thrill of deception throughout.”