Exiled Chinese dissidents alarmed by ‘spy’ arrest of Westminster researcher - The Guardian

Finn Lau’s meeting with a Westminster researcher who was later arrested on suspicion of spying for China lasted just 20 minutes. Nearly a year later he is mulling the potential consequences.

Lau, an exiled Hong Kong pro-democracy activist with a £100,000 bounty on his head, has a lingering suspicion that some of his ideas for putting more pressure on China appear not to have made it beyond their meeting.

Exiled Chinese dissidents such as Lau, as well as Hong Kong activists and others including advocates of Tibetan independence and China’s Uyghur minority ethnic group, have raised concerns after news of the researcher’s arrest in March emerged at the weekend. The man, who has not been named by police, has since said he is “completely innocent” and rejected what he said was “extravagant news reporting”.

These communities have long complained of being the target of surveillance by Chinese authorities, at demonstrations or online. Claims that China operates overseas “police stations” in Britain have also been a long-term concern.

“We are no strangers to being spied on but this week has caused people to sit up and take notice. This is a story that has gone viral among the Chinese community here,” said Lau, who continues to take security countermeasures every time he steps out in London. He said he was most recently the target of an attempt to interview him by someone posing as a reporter from a reputable Chinese radio news station.

The researcher who was arrested, who had a parliamentary pass and contact with ministers, is not thought to have family ties to China. Lau said: “It has not changed my behaviour. But I think people will also now be even more careful about who they engage with, no matter what the colour of their skin. You might say that there is even a benefit to that, if it punctures the stereotypes of what an alleged Chinese spy should be.”

Lau called for an audit of vetting measures in parliament – a system that he and Hong Kong activists argue sometimes makes it more difficult for them to engage with the democratic process in the UK.

The Conservative MP Tim Loughton spoke this week of how he had tried to hire as an intern someone who had come to the UK from Hong Kong but parliamentary security rejected them because they had not been in the UK for three years and had come from China.

In a call echoed by Amnesty International, Chung Ching Kwong, a Hong-Kong born democracy activist now living in the UK, called for reassurances to be given to those who gave information to parliamentarians and who now fear they may be at risk.

“Rather than MPs, it is the Uyghurs, Tibetans, Taiwanese, Chinese dissidents and Hongkongers that are and will be the ones to suffer,” she said. “Has anyone briefed the activists and dissidents that may have been affected due to potential security failure? At least flag to people what kind of trouble they are now being put into.”

She added: “A lot of Chinese dissident activists do sensitive work in this field and I do think that people should be worried, not necessarily in the sense that they may have to change their address immediately, but people should definitely be doing an audit of what kind of information they may have shared.”

Amnesty said: “We have long called on the UK government to protect these communities from the long arm of Chinese state oppression and to defend their rights to peaceful protest and freedom of expression and prevent any effort to intimidate and silence them.

“The government must take urgent, concrete steps to investigate this case and demonstrate to those standing up for the rights of their families and friends in China that parliament is the protected space it claims to be.”

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2023-09-13 04:00:00Z
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MPs furious over being kept in dark about alleged spying for China - The Guardian

MPs have vented their fury over a six-month silence that followed an aide operating at the heart of parliament being arrested on suspicion of allegedly spying for China and accused of passing information to Beijing in breach of the Official Secrets Act.

They voiced concern on Monday that the gap meant they had been unable to take their own security precautions, amid wider concern that individual pro-democracy activists could be put at risk by any security lapse.

Kirsty Blackman, an SNP frontbencher, asked why parliament only learned about the allegations from media reports over the weekend, and called for “a review into the decision-making process” as soon as possible.

Tim Loughton, a Conservative MP who has been previously sanctioned by China for criticising the country’s regime, said no guidance had been provided to MPs by parliament’s security authorities or by the Foreign Office or Home Office.

Responding directly to Blackman, Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons speaker, said “the MPs who needed to be told were told” at the time of the arrest, which had quietly taken place in March.

Investigators needed time to complete their inquiries, Hoyle added, describing the episode as “a major security issue”.

The researcher, who is in his 20s, was arrested in Edinburgh at the same time as a second person, in their 30s. It is understood he had links to Tory MP Tom Tugendhat, until he became security minister, and subsequently Alicia Kearns, who chairs the foreign affairs select committee.

Only a small number of MPs appear to have been warned, with other members of the cross-party foreign affairs select committee saying they had not been told about the arrest at the time.

Police sources also confirmed to the Guardian that there had been no public report of the arrests at the time they were made.

A handful of senior ministers were aware of the situation, however. Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, told parliament that James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, had raised the matter in private with his counterparts when he visited China at the end of August.

“I’m limited in what I can say specifically, but I’ve been emphatically clear in our engagement with China that we will not accept any interference in our democracy and parliamentary system,” Sunak said.

He added: “I can absolutely confirm that the foreign secretary raised these issues on his recent visit.”

Parliament’s security team is understood to have been “actively involved from the beginning” in the investigation, according to a senior parliamentary source. They said that the authorities worked with the security services to identify the parliamentary researcher who was arrested.

The researcher is not being named by the Guardian for legal reasons and on Monday, without identifying himself, he released a statement denying that he was a spy.

“It is vital that it is known that I am completely innocent,” he said in remarks released by his lawyers.

“I have spent my career to date trying to educate others about the challenge and threats presented by the Chinese Communist party. To do what has been claimed against me in extravagant news reporting would be against everything I stand for.”

The two men remain on police bail until an unspecified date in early October, while investigators continue to examine the case, which has prompted increased concerns about Beijing’s willingness to spy on the UK.

The parliamentary researcher arrested has no family ties to China. Security sources said on Monday that they believed the alleged spying could represent a potential escalation by Beijing of its espionage activities.

“If this is proved to have happened once, it is not likely to be an isolated incident,” one former senior intelligence official said.

China has accused Britain of engaging in “nothing but malicious slander” in its response to the news of the arrests. A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the UK complained of “anti-China political manipulation” and urged the British leaders to “stop putting on such self-staged political farce”.

Luke de Pulford, the executive director of the Inter Parliamentary Alliance on China, an international group of MPs and legislators monitoring human rights in the country, said those who knew the arrested researcher had not had a chance to reflect on the impact on any China-related cases they dealt with.

“This guy was arrested in March, so people around them don’t know what their potential exposure to risk is. That includes MPs who dealt with asylum requests or visa requests for people like those from Hong Kong, dissidents and others.

“But we are also talking about people whose families are back home in China, but who are working here, and are doing work that would open them up to accusations on the part of the CCP of working with foreign forces, for which they could face long periods of imprisonment,” he said.

Mark Sabah, UK and EU director of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, said he feared that pro-democracy activists who shared personal information with British MPs could be at risk if any information had leaked to Beijing.

“The big issue here, though, is that it’s not the MPs who suffer most from this, whether it’s embarrassment, or the security or parliamentary screening team,” he said.

“It’s actually the people who make approaches to lobby for causes like Tibet, Hong Kong and others who have genuine threats from the Chinese Communist party and who are in need of genuine and safe channels they can use to advocate and feed information into the debate.”

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2023-09-12 01:31:00Z
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Met Office issues yellow weather warning as heatwave comes to end - Liverpool Echo

Temperatures may have hit 29C already in September across Merseyside but all of that is set to change.

The Met Office has warned that heavy rain is set to hit the region today, with downpours expected to last for hours. A yellow weather warning for rain is in place currently across Merseyside, Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield.

The warning has been in place since 1am today (Tuesday, September 12) and will last until 1pm. The Met Office says spray and flooding on roads will make journey times longer, bus and train services are likely to be affected with journey times taking longer and flooding is possible in places.

READ MORE: I bought a mystery box of out of date food and it cost me £26

Temperatures have also dropped dramatically, with highs of just 16C compared to 27C and above at the start of the month. The forecast for today reads: "A cloudy day for most with heavy rain moving eastward through the morning. Skies may brighten in Cumbria and perhaps more generally later in the day. A little breezier and feeling fresher."

Tomorrow people can expect: "Any mist soon clearing, then a dry day with sunny spells. Possibly clouding over through the afternoon. Turning windier through the evening and overnight with some rain developing."

Looking ahead for the rest of the week, the BBC weather forecast reads: "Spells of rain in most places on Thursday morning, but becoming slightly drier and brighter through the day. A cloudy and wet day on Friday and Saturday with spells of rain expected to extend further northwards through this period, the rain becoming persistent earlier in the day and then expected to become patchier later in the day."

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2023-09-12 06:35:51Z
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Britain needs China to hit net zero, says Kemi Badenoch - The Telegraph

Britain needs China to reach its net zero targets, the Business Secretary has said, as Cabinet ministers insisted a row over spying should not result in a breaking of ties with Beijing.

Kemi Badenoch’s comments came as Tory backbenchers demanded action against China in the wake of allegations that a parliamentary researcher was a spy for the country.

She was one of a series of senior ministers, including the Prime Minister, to speak out in favour of continuing to engage with Beijing despite the claims.

On a tour of a Mini car factory in Oxford as she announced a £600 million investment to produce only electric cars by 2030, Mrs Badenoch said: “At the moment, China is leading on this technology, so we wouldn’t be able to get to where we want to get to on net zero by completely stopping or banning Chinese products.

“You can’t exclude Chinese-made products from the battery ecosystem.”

1209 number of EV and conventional engines produced

It came as Downing Street insisted that the UK had to be “in the room” with China, and Rishi Sunak argued that “speaking frankly and directly” with Beijing was in the country’s national interests.

Jeremy Hunt also backed the approach to China, despite the revelation that a British citizen in his late 20s who worked with senior Conservative MPs with access to highly sensitive or classified material had been arrested on suspicion of spying for Beijing. The researcher has denied the claims.

Speaking on Monday, the Chancellor said: “Diplomacy is about talking to everyone, and Britain will always understand that.”

The timing of the leak about the alleged spy, who was arrested in March, has prompted some suspicion that it was intended to derail a perceived warming in relations between London and Beijing.

Last month, James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, became the first senior British politician to make an official visit to China in five years, and Mr Sunak has backed away from a pledge by his predecessor Liz Truss to officially label Beijing a threat to Britain.

During her 49 days in Downing Street, Ms Truss was moving to formally declare China a “threat”, but Mr Sunak has used softer language, talking instead about “an epoch-defining challenge”.

China also remains invited to the UK’s Artificial Intelligence summit later this year.

Senior Tories challenge approach

Ms Truss was among a string of prominent Tory backbenchers to vehemently challenge the Government’s approach in the wake of the spying row on Monday.

The former prime minister called China “the largest threat, both to the world and to the United Kingdom, for freedom and democracy” and asked why the UK Government had not designated the country as such.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, warned there was a potential “espionage cell” in Westminster and demanded to know when the Foreign Office knew about the latest suspect.

Tim Loughton, a Conservative MP who has been sanctioned by China, said the Government’s approach was “clearly not working” and warned that the country posed “a threat”.

He called for a “full audit” of Beijing’s influence, adding “the tentacles of the regime extend now to Parliament, company board rooms, in schools, in campuses and local government up and down the country”.

Mr Cleverly was also under pressure to reveal whether he brought up the alleged China parliamentary spy case when he visited Beijing last month.

The Telegraph understands he did not bring up the specific case with Chinese counterparts, but did more broadly warn against interference in UK democratic institutions.

James Cleverly with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi during his visit to Beijing last month Credit: Rory Arnold/No10 Downing Street

It comes amid a row over whether the individual who was arrested should be named.

On Monday, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, warned MPs off using parliamentary privilege to name the alleged spy or provide details of the case.

However, campaigners have warned that the arrest has caused fear and panic among the opponents of China’s ruling Communist party and called for authorities to name the suspect to reassure those who have sought sanctuary in the UK.

In a statement issued through lawyers on Monday, the individual insisted that he was innocent.

He said: “I feel forced to respond to the media accusations that I am a ‘Chinese spy’. It is wrong that I should be obliged to make any form of public comment on the misreporting that has taken place.

“However, given what has been reported, it is vital that it is known that I am completely innocent. I have spent my career to date trying to educate others about the challenge and threats presented by the Chinese Communist Party.

“To do what has been claimed against me in extravagant news reporting would be against everything I stand for.”

A second man, in his 30s, thought to be a university academic, was also arrested. Both arrests took place in March. The two men have been released on bail.

Since entering No 10 in October, Mr Sunak has rowed back on his tough rhetoric during the Tory leadership campaign on China and sought to take a more balanced approach.

He has argued that the UK must engage with China if it wants progress on issues such as climate change and global growth – while insisting he is willing to call out Beijing when needed.

The Prime Minister restated his position when he addressed MPs on Monday about the G20 summit in India, which he attended over the weekend.

Back from the G20 meeting in India, Rishi Sunak spoke in favour of continuing to engage with Beijing Credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty

Mr Sunak said: “The whole House is rightly appalled about reports of espionage in this building. The sanctity of this place must be protected.

“And the right of members to speak their minds without fear or sanction must be maintained. We will defend our democracy – and our security.”

But he also defended the wider engagement: “By speaking frankly and directly we will ensure our messages are heard clearly and that our interests and values are protected and promoted.”

The Prime Minister added later: “It’s through that leadership, working with our allies and partners that we’ll increase our security, grow our economy, and deliver on the priorities of the British people.”

That Chinese investment has played a sizable role in major British infrastructure projects adds complexity to the UK’s approach.

Chinese money was also critical in helping to fund forthcoming UK nuclear power plants, though the Government has more recently been moving to lock Beijing out of critical national infrastructure.

However Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister, indicated that China could be formally designated as a potential risk to Britain’s “safety and national interests” under new security laws.

Mr Dowden said there was a “strong case” for including China in the “enhanced” tier of the foreign influence registration scheme, though declined to give a firm decision.

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2023-09-11 21:08:00Z
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Daniel Abed Khalife arrest: Wandsworth prisoner to appear in court after escaping custody - live updates - The Independent

Escaped terror suspect Daniel Khalife arrested in west London

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A man is in a critical condition after being stabbed at HMP Wandsworth just days after Daniel Abed Khalife’s escape, the Metroploitan Police have confirmed.

It is believed the incident broke out between two inmates and police were called to the scene at 3.20pm.

Earlier today it was confirmed Wandsworth escapee Daniel Abed Khalife will appear in court after the terror suspect has been charged following his escape from Wandsworth Prison.

A 75-hour nationwide manhunt came to a dramatic end on Saturday morning when the former soldier was tackled off a bike and arrested by a plainclothes counter-terrorism officer on a canal towpath near Rowdell Road in Northolt, west London. He is currently in police custody.

The Metropolitan Police said the 21-year-old will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday after being charged with escaping custody at HMP Wandsworth while on remand there pending trial at the Old Bailey, contrary to common law.

Khalife – who was found with a sleeping bag, change of clothes, bottle of water and Waitrose cool bag – laughed at police and winked at passersby during his arrest, witness Ethan Andrews, 20, told The Sun.

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Inmate stabbed at Wandsworth jail days after Daniel Khalife escape

An inmate of HMP Wandsworth has been stabbed four days after another prisoner escaped, the Met Police have confirmed.

The man remains in a critical condition after emergency services were called just after 3pm today and an air ambulance was sent to the scene.

It is believed the incident broke out between two prisoners.

Police say they were called to the scene at 3.20pm to reports of an assault.

No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing.

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has said around 40 inmates of HMP Wandsworth have been moved out of the jail after terror suspect Daniel Khalife’s escape (Yui Mok/PA)

Lydia Patrick10 September 2023 18:23

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Daniel Khalife charged by police after escaping Wandsworth prison

The Metropolitan Police said Daniel Khalife, 21, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday after being charged with escaping custody at HMP Wandsworth in London.

Khalife was arrested on Saturday morning on a towpath near Rowdell Road in Northolt.

He is charged with escaping custody on September 6 while on remand at Wandsworth pending trial at the Old Bailey, contrary to common law.

The Metropolitan Police said Daniel Khalife, 21, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday

Tara Cobham10 September 2023 13:30

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Daniel Khalife’s escape follows a rich – and troubled – history of prison breaks

Guy Walters explores a long line of theatrical prison breaks as Daniel Khalife earns a place in criminal history - alongside members of the IRA, a train robber and an ex-M16 agent.

Ronnie Biggs, am infamous train robber, also escaped from Wandsworth prison in 1965. While Biggs did not use a rope, he did use a rope ladder to scale a prison wall, which had been slung over by accomplices.

While his fellow prisoners staged a scuffle to distract the wardens, Biggs hotfooted it over the wall. On the other side was not a boat, but a removals lorry, through the roof of which Biggs climbed and away to freedom.

Even though his gang were a bunch of violent larcenous thugs, Biggs enjoyed a certain folk hero status while living in exile in Brazil, from where he eventually returned to be imprisoned once more in 2001.

Read about the other famous escapes here

Lydia Patrick11 September 2023 01:01

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What has Daniel Khalife been charged with?

Daniel Khalife has been charged with escaping from custody at HMP Wandsworth, the Metropolitan Police have said.

His capture followed a mass land and air search over four days after he went missing from the prison on Wednesday.

He will appear in custody at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday 11 September charged as follows:

“On the sixth day of September 2023, then being a prisoner in His Majesty’s prison at Wandsworth, being remanded in custody pending trial as ordered at the Central Criminal Court on the 21st day of July 2023, escaped, contrary to common law.”

Read the full story here

Lydia Patrick11 September 2023 00:00

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How did Daniel Khalife get caught?

After various sightings a national manhunt led by the police involving helicopters, dogs and back gardens led officers to track him down.

Commander Dominic Murphy said on Friday evening that police conducted an intelligence-led search at a residential property in the Richmond area.

He said: “We had the helicopter up, we had dogs, we had an awful lot of resource.

“I’m aware that it caused some concern for residents seeing police officers trying to search around their houses and in some cases, I’ve heard on the media… in their back gardens.

“This was all in an effort to try and locate Daniel Khalife.”

After reports of further sightings in the Church Street and Chiswick Mall area, further officers were deployed.

Khalife was eventually found on a canal towpath in Northolt, west London, around eight miles from where he was last seen by a member of the public.

Read the full story here

Lydia Patrick10 September 2023 23:00

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How did Daniel Khalife escape prison?

Daniel Abed Khalife, a former British Army soldier, is thought to have used makeshift straps to cling onto a food delivery van while wearing a chef’s uniform to escape from HMP Wandsworth.

He was wearing a prison-issue chef’s uniform of a white T-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown steel toe cap boots, police said.

Dressed as a chef, the former Royal Signals soldier evaded guards and cameras as the lorry was driven out as he clung on using makeshift straps taking him out of the jail in seconds.

Lydia Patrick10 September 2023 21:00

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Where was Daniel Khalife found?

Khalife was arrested on a towpath near Rowdell Road, Northolt on Saturday 9 September following a policing operation led by officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command.

After a mass land and air search aided by the security services, Khalife was detained on suspicion of being unlawfully at large and being an escaped prisoner at 10.41am on Saturday after being pulled off a push bike by a plain-clothed counter terrorism officer.

He was arrested on a canal towpath in west London, around eight miles from where he was last seen by a member of the public.

Khalife was “fully cooperative” as he was handcuffed, with some reports claiming he was “laughing” as he was arrested.

(Lucy North/PA Wire)

Lydia Patrick10 September 2023 20:00

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‘Why I believe prisons like Wandsworth should be closed’

Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor gives a shocking account of day-to-day life inside vermin-infested HMP Wandworth.

He writes exclusively for The Independent: “We inspected Wandsworth in September 2021 after a spate of self-inflicted deaths at the jail, and returned again less than a year later because we were so concerned about what we found.

“The cells at Wandsworth are small, dark and cramped, with an unscreened toilet in the corner, a sink and a plastic chair. Those on the lower floors suffer from vermin and damp, while the cells on the top landings are unbearably hot during the summer.”

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has said around 40 inmates of HMP Wandsworth have been moved out of the jail after terror suspect Daniel Khalife’s escape (Yui Mok/PA)

The inspector says inmates are refined to their cells to periods of up to 22 hours a day and staffing levels are dangerously low.

With a lack of educational and developmental opportunities behind bars, Taylor explains it is no wonder the crumbling correction unit has become the perfect gateway for high levels of drug use and violence.

Read the full account about life inside Wandsworth here:

Lydia Patrick10 September 2023 19:00

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Inmates moved out of Wandsworth Prison after Daniel Khalife escape

Around 40 inmates of HMP Wandsworth have been moved out of the Category B prison after terror suspect Daniel Khalife’s escape, the Justice Secretary has said.

Justice Secretry Alex Chalk said on Sunday that the preliminary findings of his investigation into the ageing London jail have found that the relevant procedures and security staff were in place.

But he said dozens of individuals on remand have been moved to different sites “out of an abundance of caution” amid questions over why a former soldier accused of a terror offence was not in the highest security prison.

Mr Chalk told Sky’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “Out of an abundance of caution, some prisoners there – some of those on remand – have been moved (this week).

“Additional resources have, of course, gone into Wandsworth, so there’s additional governor support, a former governor with particular expertise in security.

“But also, out of an abundance of caution, around 40 prisoners have been moved just while we get to the bottom of what took place in Wandsworth. That is a sensible, precautionary measure.”

Read the full story here

Lydia Patrick10 September 2023 18:00

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Mapped - the 75-hour national manhunt to capture Khalife

See where and how the 75-hour search unfolded after Daniel Khalife escaped from HMP Wandsworth.

It is believed the former soldier strapped himelf to a Bidfood delivery van to get out of jail.

75-hours and a mass police search later, Khalife was arrested just over an hour away from his cell.

Read the full report here

Mapped - the manhunt for Daniel Khalife

(The Independent)

Lydia Patrick10 September 2023 17:30

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2023-09-11 00:01:00Z
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XL bulldogs to be banned after out-of-control pet went on rampage injuring three in Birmingham - The Telegraph

American “XL Bully” dogs are set to be banned after the latest attack saw an out-of-control pet go on the rampage in Birmingham.

Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, announced that she had commissioned “urgent advice” on outlawing the breed after she highlighted the “appalling” attack on an 11-year-old girl during the incident.

West Midlands Police were investigating after the girl and two men who intervened were injured in the attack in the Bordesley Green area on Saturday.

“This is appalling. The American XL Bully is a clear and lethal danger to our communities, particularly to children,” Ms Braverman wrote on social media. “We can’t go on like this. I have commissioned urgent advice on banning them.”

WARNING DISTRESSING VIDEO - out of control bully breed attacking multiple people in Birmingham today. pic.twitter.com/Gm1wRApetH

— Bully Watch (@BullyWatchUK) September 9, 2023

The advice was commissioned last week after data showed the breed had been involved in the majority of fatal dog attacks in the UK since 2021. Two in four that year involved the XL bulldog – rising to six in 10 in 2022.

Animal experts fear there could be many more fatalities if urgent action is not taken to stop the rise of the genetically engineered American crosses from reaching Britain’s shores.

Although Mrs Braverman has requested the advice it will be the responsibility of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to add the breed to the banned list.

The latest attack in Birmingham unfolded on Saturday afternoon as the animal’s owner was taking it for a walk. A video circulating online which was taken from the top deck of a bus showed the rampage erupt.

The little girl’s arms were bitten by the animal before a man managed to pull the dog off her. She ran into a shop for safety as the XL Bully was held on the ground but it then managed to escape.

The dog sprinted after another man wearing a white T-shirt and shorts. He was chased onto a petrol station forecourt where he was attacked before the animal was hit and stopped.

Police spoke to owner

West Midlands Police said the dog had been taken to secure kennels pending the outcome of the investigation and the owner had been spoken to by officers.

Footage on social media shows how the dogs chase down some of their victims, with one video in London capturing the moment one of the dogs tackles a screaming woman to the floor while it tears off chunks of her flesh.

Last week it was revealed two Bully XLs were responsible for killing 22 pregnant sheep and injuring 48 others in a frenzied attack in Wales that forced a farmer to shoot both dogs.

Despite being outlawed in the UK almost 200 years ago, authorities have warned dog fighting in Britain is on the rise and these types of breeds are the first choice.

The muscular American Bully XL can display unnatural savagery because it has been instilled through violent training and years of inbreeding.

Evade dangerous dog laws

Underground breeders are creating giant “mutant crossbreeds” by mating banned pitbulls with legal mastiffs and bulldogs to evade dangerous dogs laws.

Saturday’s attack was the latest in a series of similar incidents in the hot weather. As the temperature has risen so have the reports of dogs setting upon victims. A woman died after being mauled by Rottweilers and several children have been scarred for life.

Emma Chandley, a practising vet with Perfect Pet Insurance, said that summer highs ‘lower the thresholds for violence’ in humans and animals.

She said: “Dogs are more likely to attack and bite in the warmer summer months. As with humans, tensions tend to rise as the temperature does.

“From my experience, dogs are more likely to bite on hotter days and when the air pollution is higher,” she added.

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2023-09-10 20:10:00Z
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Escaped terror suspect Daniel Abed Khalife arrested as police tackle him off bike - The Independent

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A terror suspect who escaped from prison by strapping himself to the underside of a delivery lorry has been caught after being tackled off his bike on a towpath by a police officer.

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, a former soldier who fled HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday, was arrested on suspicion of being unlawfully at large and being an escaped prisoner.

He was spotted by the plainclothes counterterrorism officer just before 11am on Saturday in northwest London, about 12 miles from where he fled, and is now in police custody, the Metropolitan Police said. Khalife was found with the bike, a sleeping bag and a cool bag full of food.

The hunt for Khalife began when Wandsworth prison sounded the alarm that one of its inmates was on the loose at 7.50am on Wednesday. The Bidfood lorry under which Khalife is believed to have strapped himself left the prison at 7.32am. Across the next three days, more than 150 Met Police officers worked “at pace around the clock” as they received more than 100 calls from the public, offered a £20,000 reward for information, and slowly closed in on Khalife.

Daniel Abed Khalife was caught on a canal towpath

Describing the investigation as “extremely complicated”, with a lot of police activity being led by intelligence, counterterrorism boss Commander Dominic Murphy said the search for Khalife “really gathered momentum” from Friday afternoon, with the number of calls the force received from the public increasing “substantially” overnight and into the early hours of Saturday morning.

What followed was an intelligence-led search of a home in the borough of Richmond at around 2am on Saturday. While that search was happening, multiple other reports came in from members of the public of sightings of Khalife in the Richmond and Chiswick areas of west London.

Consequently, armed officers, police dogs and helicopters descended on the quiet, leafy area of Chiswick on Saturday morning. Cars were stopped and inspected, residents were asked for their IDs, and a police boat patrolled the River Thames nearby, while there were reports of gardens being searched.

Khalife was caught on this canal towpath in Northolt

Khalife was eventually arrested near Rowdell Road in the Northolt area, with footage showing him sitting on the canal towpath, with a bike, a Waitrose cool bag and a sleeping bag nearby.

Ethan Andrews, 20, a student who witnessed the arrest, said that Khalife “laughed and winked” at him while he was sat handcuffed by officers.

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He told The Sun: “The guy looked up at me, winked and started laughing. I thought, how arrogant is that? I can’t believe he was just sitting there, looked at me and just winked.”

Mr Murphy said: “He was actually arrested by a plainclothes officer... and he was riding a pedal cycle, so a pushbike, at the time, was pulled off that pushbike by that officer and arrested at that location,”

“Upon being detained by the officer he was fully cooperative and handcuffed and arrested.”

Questioned on why it took three days to complete the search, Mr Murphy said: “This isn’t a TV programme. This is a real-life manhunt for somebody who has escaped from prison and he’s quite a resourceful young man.”

A tracking map showing helicopters scouring Richmond Park in search for missing terror suspect Daniel Abed Khalife

(Flightradar24)

The initial confirmed sighting came after police had scoured Richmond Park on Thursday night and into the early hours of Friday, with local resident Chloe Dobbs, 23, telling The Independent of the “overwhelming” sound of “constant” sirens and police helicopters circling for “hours and hours”.

Then, on Friday afternoon, police said that Khalife had been spotted emerging from underneath the delivery vehicle at Wandsworth Roundabout shortly after he escaped.

Rishi Sunak is 'pleased' Daniel Khalife has been arrested

(Sky News)

Gabriella Lewis, from Chiswick, told BBC News she believed she briefly spoke to Khalife as he sat on a bench in Chiswick House Gardens on Friday morning.

After commenting on the hot weather, she said he claimed he had just come out of the army. She described him as gentle and sweet, and said he was affectionate towards her dog.

Pointing to “the fact he could strap himself onto the bottom” of a delivery lorry, Met Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said Khalife’s escape was “clearly pre-planned”. Meanwhile, intelligence sources told The Independent it is “almost certain” that Khalife had “inside help”.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, CdrMurphy said there had been no further arrests so far. But he added: “Anyone who supported Khalife before, during or after – I can tell you we will be looking for those individuals.” He said the “fast-moving” investigation is still ongoing, with officers yet to conduct “a number of inquiries”.

Police released images of the chef’s uniform Khalife was thought to have been wearing when he escaped

(Met Police)

Prime minister Rishi Sunak said he is “very pleased’’ the terror suspect has been arrested, as he praised efforts by the police and the public in finding him, while Home Office policing minister Chris Philp congratulated the police for their “rapid and effective’’ work.

Labour has demanded answers from the government about how the escape occured, now that Khalife has been arrested. Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: “We need answers about how on earth a prisoner charged with terror and national security offences could have escaped in this way.”

Police in the Chiswick area in west London, about 7 miles from where Khalife was eventually found

It is unclear whether Khalife will be taken to a higher-security location or back to the category B prison, where he was awaiting trial after being accused of leaving fake bombs at a military base.

Khalife is also accused of eliciting or trying to elicit information that could be useful for a terrorist on 2 August 2021, and breaching the Official Secrets Act by gathering information that could be useful to an enemy between 1 May 2019 and 6 January 2022.

Khalife, a British citizen whose father is said to be Iranian, allegedly attempted to pass on the information to a foreign power, believed to be Iran, security sources told The Independent. They allege that he sought to “graduate” into spying with the material he had obtained from the MoD.

Khalife was due to appear in court on 13 November to face charges. He denied the charges against him at the Old Bailey in July.

HMP Wandsworth in London, which terror suspect Daniel Abed escaped from clinging on to a delivery lorry

Writing for The Independent, the chief inspector of prisons described the chaos inside overcrowded Wandsworth jail. Charlie Taylor told of “small, dark and cramped” cells plagued with damp and vermin, where inmates are routinely locked up for 22 hours a day with little access to education or training to break the cycle of offending.

Mr Taylor said the single biggest problem that faces Wandsworth is a lack of staff, with shortages in every area. He added that many staff were only recently out of school and so inexperienced that prisoners frequently have to tell new workers what they are supposed to do.

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2023-09-09 22:56:19Z
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