AN Essex airport has been “placed on alert” after a former soldier accused of terrorism escaped from prison.

Police are continuing to hunt for the man who is believed to have escaped from a prison kitchen by clinging on to a delivery van.

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, went missing in his cook’s uniform from HMP Wandsworth, prompting extra security checks at major transport hubs.

There are fears the fugitive – who has been missing since 8am on Wednesday – could attempt to flee the country.

His escape has sparked a major police hunt with ports and airports placed on alert, and some passengers facing delays as extra checks are being carried out.

A spokesman for Stansted Airport said: “Some checks were in place yesterday (September 6)."

They added: “Security for departing passengers at London Stansted has operated as normal today (September 7) without any disruption. This was also the case yesterday.”

Khalife, who was discharged from the Army in May 2023, was awaiting trial after allegedly planting a fake bomb at an RAF base and gathering information that might be useful to terrorists or enemies of the UK.

He has denied the three charges against him.

He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown, steel toe-cap boots.

The Metropolitan Police described him as slim and 6ft 2in, with short brown hair.

The head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, Commander Dominic Murphy, said there was “no reason to believe Khalife poses a threat to the wider public” but urged people not to approach him and to call 999 if they spot him.

“We have a team of officers who are making extensive and urgent inquiries in order to locate and detain Khalife as quickly as possible,” he added.

Khalife has links to north-west England and Kingston in London, but Mr Murphy said the hunt is covering the whole of the UK.

After the manhunt was launched, passengers at Manchester Airport faced delays of about 30 minutes at security as extra passport checks were carried out.

Delays were also reported at the Port of Dover, and Gatwick Airport said additional security measures were in place.