Rishi Sunak ‘very pleased’ by arrest
Rishi Sunak said he is “very pleased” that Khalife has been arrested, as he praised efforts by the police and the public in finding him.
Speaking at the G20 summit in New Delhi, the Prime Minister said: “I’m very pleased with the news and my thanks to the police officers for their fantastic work over the past couple of days, but also to the public who came forward with an enormous number of leads to help the police in their inquiries.
“It’s good news that we captured the person concerned. As people already know, the Justice Secretary has initiated an inquiry into the circumstances of his escape and that work will continue.
“And this is obviously very welcome news. And again, my thanks to the police but also to the public for their help.”
‘The police were checking everybody’s gardens’
Paul Wade, a Chiswick resident, opened his curtains to find five police officers outside his home on Saturday morning as part of the search for Khalife.
He said: “They said ‘I expect you know why we are here.’
“They were checking everybody’s gardens. Our neighbour told us there were sniffer dogs.
“As we understand it, they just clambered over the walls and inspected, they didn’t wake everybody up. They just checked. They had helicopters above.”
‘Great work by the Met Police’
Chris Philp, the Home Office minister, congratulated the police for their “rapid and effective” work to apprehend Khalife.
The policing minister wrote on social media: “Great work by the Met Police. Well done for a rapid and effective piece of work to catch this fugitive.
“An example of policing at its best. Congratulations to all Officers involved in this operation.”
Welcome to our coverage of Daniel Khalife’s arrest
Daniel Khalife has been found and arrested on the fourth day of a manhunt after he escaped from HMP Wandsworth, the Metropolitan Police said.
The 21-year-old was arrested just before 11am on Saturday in Chiswick, west London, and is now in police custody, the force said.