Ex-soldier Daniel Khalife accused of spying for Iran ‘put special forces at threat’, court told

A erstwhile British worker accused of passing concealed accusation to Iran could person enactment peculiar forces unit “at threat” erstwhile helium covertly gathered their names, a tribunal has heard.

Daniel Khalife, 23, took a photograph of a handwritten database of 15 soldiers, including immoderate serving successful the Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS), Woolwich Crown Court was told.

A elder service quality officer, named lone arsenic Soldier A, told the tribunal the accusation gathered by Khalife could person proved “beneficial” to a “hostile adversary”.

It's paramount for nationalist information that we support them and support their identities

Soldier A

He took details from an interior spreadsheet of promotions successful June 2021, sent to a WhatsApp radical and past logged connected to an interior HR strategy for booking permission to effort to find retired the soldiers’ archetypal names, the proceedings heard previously.

The interior spreadsheet had been leaked, the tribunal was told, and had been reported by the media.

Jurors were shown a photograph from Khalife’s iPhone of a handwritten database of 15 soldiers helium made, including their work number, rank, initials, surname and unit.

“The idiosyncratic should not person taken details disconnected that sheet,” Soldier A said of Khalife.

“They are not allowed to bash that.

“Releasing that accusation could enactment those individuals astatine threat.”

Khalife would person known astir the risks of gathering the accusation from his training, Soldier A said.

Asked by authoritative Mark Heywood KC what mightiness hap to peculiar forces oregon quality unit if their details got out, the serviceman said: “That tin beryllium their full vocation gone… It’s paramount for nationalist information that we support them and support their identities.”

The elder officer, who admitted Khalife had “exploited a weakness successful the system”, said specified details would besides beryllium utile to terrorists.

In a transcript of a constabulary interrogation work to the court, Khalife was asked if helium had passed his database to anybody, to which helium replied: “No, no, no.”

Discussing the interior spreadsheet leak, helium told officers: “Even our f****** cleaner know… it gets enactment each implicit the walls.”

The erstwhile worker is alleged to person fled his Army barracks successful January 2023 erstwhile helium realised helium would look transgression charges implicit allegations helium passed classified accusation to Iran’s quality service.

Later, portion connected remand, helium is alleged to person escaped from HMP Wandsworth successful September 2023 by tying himself to the underside of a nutrient transportation motortruck utilizing bedsheets.

As good arsenic the situation escape, Khalife faces a complaint of gathering, publishing oregon communicating accusation that mightiness beryllium utile to an enemy, namely Iranian intelligence, contrary to the Official Secrets Act betwixt May 1 2019 and January 6 2022.

He is besides accused of perpetrating a weaponry hoax successful Beaconside, Staffordshire, connected oregon earlier January 2023.

The 4th complaint alleges Khalife elicited oregon attempted to elicit idiosyncratic accusation astir equipped forces unit that was apt to beryllium utile to a idiosyncratic committing oregon preparing an enactment of coercion from a Ministry of Defence medication strategy connected August 2 2021.

He denies each the charges, and the proceedings continues.