Eighty prison staff absent on day Daniel Khalife escaped

Nearly 40% of prison officers did not turn up for work at Wandsworth prison on the day terror suspect Daniel Khalife escaped, it has been revealed.

The 21-year-old former soldier has been charged with escaping in a van on 6 September.

On that day, 80 prison officers did not turn up for their shift - 39% of all staff expected on duty - Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures show.

The government said staffing levels were "above the minimum" level needed.

But Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, Labour MP for Wandsworth, said the government "must get a grip" on staffing at the prison.

Dr Allin-Khan, who uncovered the staffing figures through a question in Parliament, said: "It is deeply concerning that on the day Khalife escaped, just 60% of prison officers turned up for duty.

"With such low staff numbers, mistakes were bound to happen."

An initial investigation into Mr Khalife's escape had not found the staffing level to be a contributing factor, the MoJ said.

Prisons minister Damian Hinds said: "Overall staffing levels were above the minimum staffing level required by the prison's Regime Management Plan to deliver a safe and decent regime.

"All staff in both the kitchen and the gatehouse were on duty on 6 September."

Keith Bristow served as the first head of the National Crime Agency from 2013 to 2016 after spending five years as chief constable of Warwickshire Police.

Mr Khalife was arrested on a canal towpath in west London on 9 September after being pulled off a bicycle by a plain-clothes counter-terrorism officer.

The MoJ said the probe would look into the rules at HMP Wandsworth and how Mr Khalife might have got the tools he needed to escape.

Staffing levels and an assessment of security measures, such as checks relating to the delivery lorries, will also be looked at.

The report on the investigation will be submitted to Justice Secretary Alex Chalk and the head civil servant at the MoJ.