Former British soldier Daniel Khalife, branded a "dangerous fool" by the judge, Justice Cheema-Grubb, has been jailed for 14 years and three months after spying for Iran and escaping from prison. Report by Faragt. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
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00:00You were arrested in January 2023, charged and remanded into custody.
00:05You escaped from Wandsworth Prison on the 6th of September 2023, having been escorted to work
00:10in the kitchen. You climbed under a food delivery lorry to which you had previously attached
00:17a makeshift sling of bedsheets and metal carabinier clips. You were arrested three days
00:24later. You initiated contact directly with an enemy state while serving as a member of
00:29His Majesty's Armed Forces, having taken an oath of allegiance. You were motivated by a
00:35personal grievance to betray your colleagues and superiors. Your conduct was premeditated
00:41and continued for over two years. You took payment on two occasions and travelled to
00:46meet intelligence officers from Iran in Turkey. You handed over genuine military information,
00:54which was at official classification, including the doctrine notes. You continued in contact
01:01with your handlers even after arrest, when you were released on police bail while under
01:05investigation. The truth is, you did it because you thought you could. You later boasted that
01:12as a soldier you were trained to escape. You were facing trial on very grave charges to which you
01:18had no real defense. You also abused the trust placed in you when working in the kitchen.
01:25The fact that you seem to have been in touch with an Iranian contact during your period at large
01:30is an aggravating feature, as is the degree of planning involved. Stand up, Daniel Khalif.
01:36When you joined the army as a young man, you had the makings of an exemplary soldier. However,
01:47through the repeated violation of your oath of service, you showed yourself to be instead a
01:52dangerous fool. The only sentence open to me is one of immediate custody. Anyone who is prepared
02:01to betray his country and subject serving soldiers to an increased risk of harm must be punished.