A soldier accused of spying for Iran congratulated the police officer who caught him after he broke out of prison, a court was told. Daniel Khalife, 23, is alleged to have escaped from HMP Wandsworth in south-west London while on remand by strapping himself to the underside of a food delivery lorry on Sept 6 2023.

A police officer has described how a soldier was "friendly" and "quite jovial" when he was captured, three days after allegedly escaping from Wandsworth jail, a court has heard.

The former soldier was arrested on a canal towpath in west London with a number of items including a mountain bike and about £200 in notes.