A British soldier accused of spying for Iran before going on the run from jail sent details about SAS and SBS personnel to his Iranian handlers, a court has heard.
Daniel Khalife, 23, sparked a nationwide manhunt when he allegedly escaped from HMP Wandsworth by using bed sheets to strap himself to the underside of a food delivery truck.
Khalife was being held in the jail after being accused of betraying his country by allegedly passing secret material to the Iranian Intelligence Services at the time of the escape on September 6, 2023.
Within a month of joining the army Khalife was allegedly in contact with Iranian security service members using fake email addresses.
Prosecutors have accused Khalife of using the army’s system for booking annual leave to search for and access information about 15 people, including elite troops from the special forces, before passing them to Iranian spy chiefs.
Woolwich Crown Court previously heard how the aspiring spy was arrested after arranging to meet an Iranian ‘agent’ in a park in Barnet, north London, where he was handed a ‘dog poo bag’ with £1,500.
Khalife, who had been given Nato’s second highest level of security clearance after joining the Royal Corps of Signals in 2019, was recaptured after three days on the run following his escape from prison, Woolwich Crown Court heard.
He later told police his espionage was a ‘double bluff’, with jurors hearing he ‘flirted’ with the idea of becoming double agent, contacting MI6 in 2019 to say he wanted to work for the service, jurors heard.
Prosecutor Mark Heywood KC told jurors today Khalife assembled information while working at Stafford Barracks in the UK and when deployed at an army base in Texas.
Mr Heywood said on August 4 2020 Khalife travelled to Istanbul on instructions from a handler named ‘David Smith’ on his phone who had told him to disguise the trip as a holiday.
He used Telegram to indicate he had left a package for his handlers, the court heard.
Mr Heywood said Khalife’s plan was to go from Turkey to Iran but he did not cross the border.
On August 28, 2020, he sent ‘David Smith’ a photo of a specialist military telephone system and said he had access to a ‘secret phone which he could use to gain information’.
He received a message from Smith saying ‘we can work together a lot of years’ and replied: ‘Absolutely, I won’t leave the military until you tell me to. 25+ years.’
He asked what sector the handlers were interested in and promised to assist, the court heard.
Mr Heywood said: ‘The prosecution’s case is that by this time, five months into his posting, the material clearly shows he had escalated his assistance to a point where he was actively engaged in securing confidence and delivering material which he himself knew perfectly well was in breach of the rules that applied to him.’
Khalife was offering to provide information ‘to order for as long as they want,’ My Heywood said.
‘In September 2020 the first evidence is apparent of Khalife taking very specific steps to gather and record information concerning the Falcon system to which he had access as part of his role.
‘The Falcon system, manufactured in the UK by BAE Systems, is a joint tactical trunk communications system for over land use.
‘In May 2021 Khalife was taking images of open screens showing details of sensitive IP addresses.’
From February to April 2021 Khalife was deployed to the Fort Hood army post in Texas.
While there he set about assembling a catalogue to images and material relating to the Falcon system, Mr Heywood said.
He was given ‘NATO SECRET’ clearance – the second-highest level of security clearance within the alliance.
On April 30 2021 he returned to Stafford Barracks in the UK and his contact with Iranian handlers continued, jurors heard.
He was added to a group chat called ‘Brew room boys’ which he used to receive information including details of British Army promotions.
In August 2021 he sent a list of details of 15 soldiers including their service number, rank and unit including people in the SAS (Special Air Service) and SBS (Special Boats Service).
Khalife used the army’s system for booking annual leave to search for and access information about other soldiers, the court heard.
In 2019 he made contact with MI6 and said he had provided the Iranian government with a fake document which he had left in a dog waste bag in Mill Hill Park.
British-born Khalife, whose mother is Iranian and father Lebanese, joined the Royal Corps of Signals in February 2019 after completing foundation college training.
Prosecutor Mr Heywood said Khalife had harboured an interest in ‘espionage’ since the age of 17.
He embarked on a plan to leak secrets almost as soon as he joined the Royal Corps of Signals, the court was told.
The defendant, brought up in Kingston, south London, by his Iranian mother, allegedly started searching for intelligence-related material concerning MI5 in 2018, jurors previously head.
He denies committing an act prejudicial to the interests or safety of the state by collecting information that might be useful to an enemy between 1 May 2019 and January 6 2022, contrary to the Official Secrets Act 1911.
He also denies eliciting information about members of HM armed forces and a third ‘bomb hoax offence’ alleging he left three canisters with wires on his desk in his accommodation at MOD Stafford, also known as Beacon Barracks, on January 2 2023.
Khalife also denies escape, contrary to common law.
The trial continues.