The food delivery truck in which Daniel Khalife escaped from HMP Wandsworth was allowed to leave prison despite the prisoner being known to be missing, a court has heard.

Daniel Khalife, 23, is on trial at Woolwich Crown Court charged with collecting sensitive military information for Iran and escaping from Wandsworth Prison on September 6, 2023 – he denies the charges against him.

Balazs Werner, a Bidfood truck driver, said he was surprised when he was allowed to leave through the main gate because he heard security officers saying that “someone in the prison has gone missing.”

Earlier on Tuesday, jurors heard how a fake bomb was found in the former British Army soldier’s room after he escaped from his barracks in early 2023.

In a statement read to the jury, Mr Werner said that after he was taken to prison, “two guards checked the vehicle again with a flashlight and mirror” before releasing him.

“I asked, ‘Are you sure I can go?’ because I thought there would be isolation,” he added.

The court also heard that a woman who was driving behind a van stopped at traffic lights saw a man wearing a white T-shirt and “pale pink gloves” roll out from underneath it.

“I saw him fall to the ground and then do something like roll a pencil,” Skye Vokins said.

“When the man got to his feet… I remember him brushing his bangs back and being very calm.”

Ms Vokins said she “didn’t see” which direction the man went. Her flatmate later contacted the police on her behalf.

The court heard Mr Khalife was at the Mountain Warehouse store that day and was seen at M&S ​​and Sainsbury’s the following day.

He was arrested on a canal towpath in west London on September 9, 2023.

Prosecutor Mark Heywood earlier told jurors Mr Khalife “quite deliberately fled” after being escorted to the prison kitchen where he worked.

The alleged escape occurred while Mr Khalife was in custody after being charged with offenses under the Official Secrets Act and the Terrorism Act and staging a bomb attack, all of which he denies.

He is also accused of escaping from Beacon Barracks in Stafford in January 2023 after realizing he would be charged with passing classified information.

The court heard a note was left next to the device: “It’s safe to say you’re going to jail for a very long time. Your choice is suicide or escape.”

Jurors heard on Tuesday that a counterfeit device in the form of three metal canisters taped together was found on his desk after he failed to report for duty on Jan. 3, 2023.

LCpl Aaron Barrett said his first impression was that it was a “pipe bomb”.

“The wires coming out of the top seemed to be connected together, but there was nothing connected to them, like a charge or anything,” he told the court.

Officers at the scene also believed the device to be fake but called in a bomb disposal unit.

The unit set up a 100-metre cordon and evacuated five houses until the device was confirmed to be fake, the court heard.

In a statement read to the court, a bomb disposal officer said the device contained nitrous oxide cylinders.

Prosecutors said Mr Khalife plotted a hoax to delay the search for him.

The trial continues.

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