Ex-soldier accused of passing on secret information staged bomb hoax, court told

A former British soldier has been accused of perpetrating a bomb hoax in Staffordshire in January 2023. Daniel Khalife, who allegedly passed secret information to Iran, was said to have left a “strange and dodgy” looking device on his desk when he fled Beaconside barracks.

The 23-year-old's fellow soldiers thought the silver-coloured gas canisters, which were held together with green tape, were “a makeshift bomb”, a court heard. The discovery prompted a 100-metre cordon to be set up around the device until a bomb disposal unit confirmed it was not dangerous.

Khalife was alleged to have fled the barracks when he realised he would face criminal charges over allegations he passed classified information to Iran’s intelligence service. He prepared the bomb hoax in a bid to delay the search for him, prosecutors have claimed.

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The court previously heard that in December 2022, having been interviewed by police, Khalife was told his case had been referred to the CPS for a charging decision. On January 2, 2023, following a Christmas break, the then signaller did not report for parade, and Army personnel were tasked with searching his one-man room.

This was when a device was discovered on his desk, initially believed to be a bomb, the jury heard. Lance Corporal Aaron Barrett told the court he'd noticed what he'd thought were “four energy type bottles”. He said the device “had wires coming out the top of them”. When asked what he initially thought the bottles could be, L/Cpl Barrett said: “A makeshift bomb, straight away.”

The soldier told the court he'd approached the item “tentatively, very tentatively, just in case”, before reporting what he had seen to his seniors. A fellow lance corporal, who was also present, had said the device seemed “strange and dodgy”, in a written statement read to the court. The soldier added: “If I’d seen a timer I could have thought that it was a bomb and run out."

Jurors heard that Warrant Officer Mark Morrison, later arrived in the room and pulled wires out to prove it was not real. In a statement read to the court, he said he'd noticed a large amount of Khalife’s clothes were missing, including underwear and socks.

Khalife was reported to the police as a missing person on January 4, and officers visited the barracks, the court heard. He was ultimately found and arrested on January 26, the court was told, but in September, while on remand, Khalife was alleged to have escaped from HMP Wandsworth by tying himself to the underside of a food delivery truck using bedsheets.

In addition to prison escape, Khalife also faces charges contrary to the Official Secrets Act and Terrorism Act. He denies all of the charges, and the trial continues.