A huge park in London has been sealed off as the manhunt for escaped prisoner Daniel Khalife enters its third day.
Khalife, 21, who is accused of gathering information for Iran, went missing in his cook’s uniform from HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday (September 6), sparking extra security checks at major transport hubs.
Police officers were seen guarding all the entrances to 2,400-acre Richmond Park, in south-west London late last night. The police have yet to confirm if the closure is connected to Khalife.
Helicopters circled the skies above the royal park and nearby Wimbledon Common with a source telling The Sun the police activity was linked to the search for Khalife, who has links to Kingston which is near Richmond Park.
The Metropolitan Police’s counter-terrorism commander said it was “testament to the ingenuity” of Khalife that there have been no confirmed sightings since he escaped prison.
Dominic Murphy said he was keeping an “open mind” as to whether Khalife had received support from somebody to escape prison and whether he had managed to leave the country.
He said more than 150 investigators and police staff from counter terrorism command working in London on investigation and officers had received more than 50 calls from the public which had provided “some really valuable lines of inquiry”.
Mr Murphy said: “This was a really busy area of London and we’ve had no confirmed sightings in any of that information, which is a little unusual, and perhaps testament to Daniel Khalife’s ingenuity in his escape and some of his movements after his escape.
“He was a trained soldier – so ultimately he has skills that perhaps some sections of the public don’t have.
“He’s a very resourceful individual, clearly, and our experience of him shows that, so nothing is off the table with him at the moment.”
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