Met Police searches Richmond Park overnight for terror suspect

The force confirmed “police activity” in the park was linked to Khalife amid reports officers had been there overnight.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has said the prison escape of Daniel Khalife was “clearly pre-planned” and is “extremely concerning”.

He told LBC: “It is clearly pre-planned, the fact that he could strap himself onto the bottom of the wagon.”

Sir Mark added a prison escape is “unlikely to be something you do on the spur of the moment”.

Asked if police are looking into whether it was an “inside job”, the commissioner said: “It is a question.

“Did anyone inside the prison help him? Other prisoners, guard staff? Was he helped by people outside the walls or was it simply all of his own creation?”

He called it “extremely concerning” that Khalife is “on the loose”.

Asked whether he was surprised to learn that the terror suspect was in a Category B prison, Sir Mark said it did “seem odd” on first inspection.

The commissioner told LBC the hunt for Khalife is a “massive operation” involving “well into three figures of officers” as well as help from forces around the country and from the border force.

“At the moment we are still really keen to get any reports from members of the public,” he added.