Man charged with aiding UK prison break of alleged spy for Iran
A man has been charged with helping a former British soldier convicted of spying for Iran escape from a London prison, the Metropolitan Police said on Monday.
A man has been charged with helping a former British soldier convicted of spying for Iran escape from a London prison, the Metropolitan Police said on Monday.
Imran Chowdhury, 25, from Chingford, a suburban area in northeast London near Epping Forest, is accused of assisting Daniel Khalife after his escape from Wandsworth prison in September 2023, which triggered a nationwide search before Khalife was recaptured three days later.
“Chowdhury was arrested in January 2024 and charged in December with one count of assisting an escaped prisoner,” police said.
Khalife had escaped the prison by clinging onto the bottom of a food delivery van. Police did not specify how Chowdhury allegedly assisted Khalife in his prison escape.
The accused is set to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on January 7.
Police also confirmed that no further action will be taken against an unnamed woman arrested in February 2024 in connection with the case.
In November last year, Khalife was found guilty of espionage for Iran, including collecting sensitive information for individuals linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and gathering the names of special forces personnel.
He was convicted on two counts related to espionage in violation of Britain’s Official Secrets Act and Terrorism Act but acquitted of charges related to a bomb hoax.
During his trial, the court heard that Khalife initiated contact with Iranian intelligence officers after learning he could not obtain developed vetting, a high-level UK security clearance, because his mother was born in Iran.
Khalife said that he later approached MI5, offering to become a double agent. He said he believed this move would be welcome, but described his arrest as a shocking experience, likening it to a "punch in the face."
He also said that drew inspiration from the television series Homeland, which portrays complex espionage scenarios involving undercover agents and double agents.
"I had seen one of the characters in the programme had actually falsely defected to a particular country and utilised that position to further the national security interests of that character's country," he told the court last year.
Prosecutors dismissed Khalife’s claim that he aspired to work as a double agent for British security services, describing it as “a cynical game.” They argued that Khalife collected “a very large body of restricted and classified material.”
Khalife, who grew up in Kingston, south-west London, joined the British Army in September 2018.
The prosecution said that Khalife took a photograph of a handwritten list of 15 soldiers, including some serving in the Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS). In June 2021, he extracted details from an internal promotions spreadsheet shared in a WhatsApp group called “Brew Room Boys.” He then accessed an internal HR system to retrieve the first names of the soldiers, the court was told.
"He was clearly researching and gathering and recording that information," Mark Heywood KC for the prosecution said during a trial session in October last year.
Prosecutors said Khalife began contact with Iranian intelligence in 2019, creating a contact with Iran’s +98 dialing code. By August 2020, he was messaging a contact saved as “David Smith,” discussing internal military systems and saying he would remain in the military for "25+ years" unless instructed otherwise.
According to the prosecution, Khalife traveled to Istanbul in August 2020 intending to meet Iranian operatives but stayed at a hotel after the plans fell through. They also alleged that in early 2021, while stationed at Fort Hood in Texas, Khalife remained in contact with an Iranian handler.
Khalife was first arrested on 6 January 2022 at a barracks in Stafford where police officers executed a search warrant. He will be sentenced later this year.
