Eighty prison staff absent on day Daniel Khalife escaped
Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2023 2:52 pm
Nearly 40% of prison officers did not turn up for work at Wandsworth prison on the day terror suspect Daniel Khalife escaped, it has been revealed.
The 21-year-old former soldier has been charged with escaping in a van on 6 September.
On that day, 80 prison officers did not turn up for their shift - 39% of all staff expected on duty - Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures show.
The government said staffing levels were "above the minimum" level needed.
But Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, Labour MP for Wandsworth, said the government "must get a grip" on staffing at the prison.
Dr Allin-Khan, who uncovered the staffing figures through a question in Parliament, said: "It is deeply concerning that on the day Khalife escaped, just 60% of prison officers turned up for duty.
"With such low staff numbers, mistakes were bound to happen."
Prisons could not safely run education or work programmes with staff shortages, Dr Allin-Khan told the BBC. There was "no reason for Daniel Khalife to be in the kitchen" on the morning he escaped, she added.
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