Jury retires to consider verdicts in case of ex-soldier accused of spying

A jury has retired to consider its verdicts against a former soldier accused of spying for Iran.

Daniel Khalife, 23, who has already admitted escaping from prison, is accused of collecting secret information and passing it to agents of the Middle Eastern country.

Prosecutors say he played “a cynical game”, claiming he wanted a career working as a double agent to help British security services, when in fact he gathered “a very large body of restricted and classified material”.

He is alleged to have covertly gathered the names of serving soldiers, including those in special forces.

You should take whatever time you feel you need

He took a photo of a handwritten list of 15 service personnel, including some from the Special Air Service and Special Boat Service, having been sent an internal spreadsheet of promotions in June 2021, his trial at Woolwich Crown Court heard.

He denied ever having sent the list to the Iranians, and claimed he mostly sent useless or made-up documents.

Khalife’s barrister Gul Nawaz Hussain KC said his double agent plot was “hapless” and “sometimes bordering on the slapstick”, more “Scooby-Doo” than “007”.

The former soldier is also accused of planting a fake bomb at his barracks in Stafford, when he realised he would face criminal charges.

He escaped from HMP Wandsworth in south-west London in September 2023 by clinging underneath a food delivery truck.

Sending the jury out, trial judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said: “The time has come for me to ask you to retire and consider your verdicts.

“You should take whatever time you feel you need.”

Khalife denies charges contrary to the Official Secrets Act and Terrorism Act, and also denies perpetrating a bomb hoax.