Daniel Khalife sentencing live: 'Narcissistic' Daniel Khalife escaped prison 'because he thought he could'

Fugitive and spy Khalife gets prison term - bringing long investigation to end

Daniel Khalife, 23, had sparked a nationwide manhunt after clinging to the underside of lorry to break out of jail in September last year.

He was on the run for three days, when he was found riding a stolen mountain bike along a canal towpath in west London.

Khalife was being held for using his role in the military to pass secret information to Iran.

He was arrested after telling the British security services he wanted to be a "double agent" - though his lawyers likened him to Scooby-Doo, rather than 007.

And after a trial at the end of last year, he was found guilty of spying for Iran, having already admitted to his prison escape.

Just moments ago, he was sentenced to more than 14 years in prison.

For a recap of what happened today - and since his prison escape - click on the link below...

Khalife sentenced to more than 14 years in prison

Daniel Khalife has been sentenced to 14 years and three months in prison.

There is no reaction from Khalife, 23, who simply looks down as the judge confirms his fate.

"Thank you, go down," Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb says as the proceedings come to an end.

Khalife 'betrayed the country and exposed others to possible harm'

As the judge sets out her thoughts on Khalife's motivation, she says he had a "dangerous and fantastical plan" that showed his "immaturity and lack of wisdom". 

She says he was an "unauthorised, unqualified and uninformed junior solider" and failed to understand "at the most obvious level" the risk he posed. 

"You put yourself in danger too because if you had not been caught and dismissed from the army, you would have been a blackmail risk for the entirety of your career," she adds. 

"However, the greater mischief for your offending is that having to engage any response from the intelligence services of the United Kingdom, you continued betraying your country and exposed others to the possibility of harm." 

She says that the full extent of the actual and potential harm caused by Khalife is "unascertainable". 

The judge adds that there was a "serious risk" to some individuals if the information obtained by Khalife was shared with an enemy state.

"Overall, I conclude that the level of harm in your case is of a moderate or high degree," the judge says. 

"You are motivated by a personal grievance to betray your colleagues and superiors. Your conduct was premeditated and continued for over two years." 

'Narcissistic' Khalife escaped prison 'because he thought he could'

We're now onto Khalife's prison escape, which the judge does not believe was driven by fear for his safety.

"The truth is, you did it because you thought you could," Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb tells him.

"You later boasted that as a soldier, you were trained to escape."

She addresses part of the defence's case that argued he was young and the brain continues to develop into the third decade of life.

"This means that I'm dealing with someone who, for all your bravado and superficial capability, is still a little distance from full adult," she adds.

She also refers to an assessment he underwent, which found he had "narcissistic and antisocial personality disorders".

"Taking these in turn, they indicate a sense of entitlement, expectation of special treatment without assuming reciprocal responsibility, and someone who is untrustworthy and unreliable," she says. 

Khalife boasted to Iran he was the 'top soldier' in his unit

Khalife boasted he was "one of the top soldiers" in his unit in a conversation with Iranian handlers, the judge says.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb tells Khalife he said he "worked harder than anyone else and had been promoted".

"You added, quote, 'I am more intelligent than everyone here, I will promote very easily'," she tells him in court.

She also says she believes Khalife kept some record of conversations to help his defence.

"The investigation was able to recover only some deleted communications and other scrambled and partial digital traces," she adds.

"The court has an incomplete picture. In my judgement, you knew that when your activities were discovered... you would have to provide an account of what you had disclosed. 

"That was why you kept screenshots of some chat exchanges with the Iranian agents." 

She says he obtained "versions and copies of 17 documents on a USB stick", and 14 of them in hard copy found in his barracks room. 

"These documents, in the main, were designed to give the appearance of intelligence material access through your work, some of which you had falsely marked top secret or secret, but which were either completely fake or otherwise," she adds.

Crypto USB went missing from squadron while Khalife in post

While Khalife was posting with the 16 signal regiment, the army was informed that a plug-in piece of equipment was missing, the judge says. 

The crypto USB was capable of holding digital data and was part of an encryption system. 

"It had been lost while in possession of another team, not yours, and this is consistent with what you told your handler about it," she tells Khalife. 

"The loss was investigated by the Royal Military Police but it was never found. The USB on its own was of no practical use without other information." 

Khalife made document about detained Iranian-British citizen

Khalife made a document about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, and Iranian-British dual citizen who was detained in Iran as part of a long-running dispute between the two countries, the judge says. 

She says the document could have been "seriously detrimental to the efforts" being made to secure Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe's release at the time. 

She adds that only some of the communications between Khalife and his Iranian handler could be recovered during the investigation. 

"I am sure that was not a complete record of what you send and you did not give a truthful account in evidence," the judge tells him. 

Cash left in cemetery for Khalife, who searched flights to Tehran

In October 2021, Daniel Khalife collected a second payment of £1,000 in cash left for him in a cemetery in London, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb says.

Then in November, he used an unregistered mobile to make two anonymous phone calls to MI5, which were recorded, she adds.

"The first you volunteered that you had been in contact with Iran's secret services for over two years, having been approached through social media asking if you could spy for them," she says.

"You claimed that you gave them some secret looking documents obtained from Wikileaks, for which they paid you twice.

"You said you'd like to help the United Kingdom security services by maintaining the relationship."

He had also said he wanted an end to it because he was concerned about his job - without specifying he was a British soldier, the judge says.

Khalife also made internet searches for flights to Tehran. 

"And the day before your second call to MI5, you made a recording in which you discussed detailed travel plans to Iran via Lebanon and the opportunity to receive some training for the activities you were engaged in," she adds.

Khalife collected information on special forces soldiers

Khalife recorded a "great deal of information" - and took photos of secure areas, the judge says. 

She adds that he collected data that was marked "secret", which related to the operation of the military's Falcon communications system. 

He continued to record and collect sensitive information when he was deployed to a multinational training exercise in Texas, she explains. 

"You were in contact with the Iranians at that time and again photographing screens clearly marked secret," she says. 

After he returned from the US, the judge says Khalife was in touch with his Iranian handler on an almost weekly basis. 

He told his handler that he could identify personnel and collected the personal details of 15 solider that were about to be promoted. 

The judge says he specially selected to collect information on UK Special Forces soldiers and members of the elite SAS, taking their details down by hand. 

Khalife said he did this to demonstrated a flaw in the security system, but the judge says he could have done this just by talking to someone about his concerns. 

MI6 silence should have been sign Khalife 'failed' in double agent bid

The judge tells Khalife he tried to "establish a credible relationship with Iranian security officers" after he was told his Iranian ancestry was likely to keep him from a career in British intelligence.

He had hoped to use this as a route into security clearance and work in British intelligence, the judge adds.

As we reported earlier, Khalife had tried to contact MI6 in 2019, but got no response.

"If what you told the police was indeed your motivation, then the fact that you received no response from MI6 should have been a sign that you had failed in that endeavour," she says. 

"The honourable option was to knuckle down, prove your worth and seek a meaningful career... but rather than ceasing contact with enemy agents, you persisted."

"Indeed, in one conversation, of which you kept a screenshot, you said that you were prepared to stay in the military for 25 years or more to do what Iran asked," the judge adds.

'I want to work as a double agent' - Khalife sent MI6 an anonymous note

The judge says Khalife sent an anonymous email to MI6 after being given £1,500. 

In the message, which was sent from a made up email address, he said the writer had been contacted five months prior to provide the Iranian government with information. 

The judge says he also stated that the writer had provided fake documents to the Iranian government in return for £2,000. 

He signed off the email: "The reason I agreed to do this is because I want to work as a double agent for the security service." 

Khalife's 'impressive act' followed by 'shame' - as judge says sentence must deter others

The judge praises Daniel Khalife's decision to join the army at a young age as an "impressive act of commitment".

But she continues: "What a shame, then, that starting in May 2019, shortly after you had completed your basic training... you spent more than two years in contact with agents of Iran, a country whose interests do not align with and at times threaten those of the United Kingdom."

She adds "deterring others from similar behaviour must be the primary aim of sentence".

Judge returns for sentencing remarks

We've heard submissions from the prosecution and defence, so it's now up to the judge to decide Daniel Khalife's sentence.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb is now back in court to deliver her remarks at Woolwich Crown Court.

What are Khalife's links with Iran?

Daniel Khalife joined the Army aged 16, before contacting an Iranian middle-man through Facebook.

Giving evidence in court last year, he said he wanted to prove himself after a senior officer told him he wouldn't be able to work in intelligence because his mother was born in Iran.

Khalife left material in public locations in exchange for cash in an old-fashioned spy tactic known as the "dead drop" or "dead letter box".

He told his handlers he would stay in the military for 25-plus years for them and twice travelled from his barracks, in Staffordshire, to the Iranian embassy in South Kensington, in London.

The court heard he flew to Istanbul, where he stayed in the Hilton hotel between 4 and 10 August 2020, and "delivered a package" for Iranian agents.

The contact continued while he was deployed to Fort Hood, Texas, where he received training in Falcon, a military communications system and even after he was arrested and released on bail.

Khalife told the jury he was an English "patriot" and "not a terrorist or a traitor," claiming he "thought he could be James Bond" but had only passed on fake or useless information.

But prosecutors said he "exposed military personnel to serious harm" when he shared sensitive information including a handwritten list of serving soldiers, including some in the SAS and SBS special services.

When he escaped, MI5, the Ministry of Defence and counter-terrorism police launched a nationwide manhunt, fearing Khalife would try to flee to Tehran or get to the Iranian embassy in London.

Khalife prison escape exposed flaws, says defence, as court now breaks

Khalife's escape from prison exposed "fundamental flaws" at Wandsworth prison, which are now being addressed, says his lawyer.

He was at large for three days and offered no threat or danger to the public, Gul Nawaz Hussain KC says.

"Members of the public who did interact with him described him as such," he adds.

Khalife's gathering of a list of soldiers' names to pass to Iran had also led to positive changes being made to internal army systems, he says, meaning servicemen and women are now better protected.

His discharge from the army has been "a significant loss" because he had planned to spend a large part of his life in the service.

While the 23-year-old knows he will receive a "significant" jail sentence, he plans to use his time in prison to pursue positive avenues, Mr Hussain said.

There is now a break in proceedings and we're expecting the judge to deliver sentencing remarks soon.

Khalife's spying won't go down in 'annals of history'

As you will have gathered from the posts below, Daniel Khalife's lawyers are arguing he wasn't a particularly effective spy.

He was more Scooby-Doo than 007, says Gul Nawaz Hussain KC - see our 11.20am post.

His spying activities will not go down in the "annals of history", he adds now.

Could have been 'nipped in the bud' when Khalife contacted MI6

Khalife's defence lawyer says it is unfortunate nobody from UK intelligence services acted when he got in touch with them.

After his arrest, Khalife told police he had wanted to offer himself to UK security agencies all along, having emailed MI6 as early as 2019.

Gul Nawaz Hussain KC this could have been "nipped in the bud" if someone responded.

He says Khalife didn't mislead intelligence services and did tell them he was serving soldier in contact with Iran. 

That should've been enough to set alarm bells ringing, he argues.

Khalife 'wanted to deceive Iran, not UK', says defence

Khalife's lawyers are continuing their defence - hoping to minimise their client's sentence.

They say initial planning related to spying were "quite extensive", but only to deceive Iranians and not the UK.

Their point is: if his actions were so sophisticated, then why would he keep the entirety of what he said in paper or electronic form?

During the trial, Khalife had said he wanted to prove bosses wrong after being told his Iranian heritage could stop him working in military intelligence and came up with a double agent plot after watching the TV spy thriller Homeland.

Khalife is staring at the ceiling as his lawyers make their case for him.

Khalife's actions 'more Scooby Doo than James Bond' - but judge questions defence

Daniel Khalife's lawyers are reminding the judge how they described his actions as more Scooby Doo than James Bond.

This isn't to make light of what he did, but to highlight how competent or not he was, they add.

The majority of what he sent or wanted to send to Iran was fabricated, they say, with at times laughably fake documents. 

Gul Nawaz Hussain KC told Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb "What Daniel Khalife clearly chose to do was not born of malice, was not born of greed, religious fervour or ideological conviction.

"His intentions were neither sinister nor cynical."

The judge is questioning these arguments, saying there are "hints" that's not actually what was going on.

It can't simply have been how they are describing, the judge says.

Khalife committed the crimes between the ages of just 17 and 20, the judge heard, when he had "a sense of unswerving self-belief and gross overestimation of ability". 

Our correspondent Sadiya Chowdhury has eyes on the dock and sees two officers who have closed their eyes.

-SKY NEWS