Ex-British Army soldier Daniel Khalife found guilty of spying for Iran

Former soldier Daniel Khalife has been found guilty of breaching the Official Secrets and Terrorism Acts by collecting sensitive information and passing it to agents of Iran.

The 23-year-old spy, who has already admitted escaping from prison, was cleared at Woolwich Crown Court of carrying out a bomb hoax.

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”.

Khalife, wearing a blue shirt and pale trousers, calmly replaced his glasses as the verdicts were read out, and did not show any emotion.

Police described him as the “ultimate Walter Mitty character that was having a significant impact on the real world”.

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.

Prosecutors believe he sent the list to Iran before deleting any evidence.

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.

Khalife’s 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.

Prosecutors said Khalife prepared a bomb hoax at his Staffordshire barracks in January 2023.

But the trial heard how a soldier who arrived in the room pulled wires out of the device to prove it was not real.

A bomb disposal unit was only called after police attended and looked at the device several days later.

In September 2023, he escaped from HMP Wandsworth in south-west London by clinging to the underside of a food delivery truck.

He 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.”

A Government spokeswoman said: “We welcome today’s verdict.

“This was an incredibly complex case.

“We thank our security partners, the police and the Crown Prosecution Service for their work to uncover this individual’s crimes and bring them to justice.”

The former soldier will be sentenced early next year.

Published: 28/11/2024 by Radio NewsHub