Frantic police officers who thought they had caught escaped terror suspect Daniel Khalife had to do an embarrassing u-turn when they realised it was just a random bloke waiting on a train.
Daniel Abed Khalife, 22, was awaiting trial for terror and Official Secrets Act offences when he escaped from Wandsworth Prison on Wednesday morning (September 6), the Metropolitan Police said.
The escaped inmate, who had served in the British Army, made the jailbreak by clinging upside down to the underside of a delivery truck as it left the southwest London penitentiary.
READ MORE: New pictures emerge of terror suspect on run amid claims he 'had help' to escape
And with the eyes of the world trained on the Met Police, they thought they had their man. However, when officers swooped on the unsuspecting commuter at Banbury station in Oxfordshire earlier today, they soon realised it wasn't Khalife.
The man was arrested then de-arrested when officers established he was not the terror suspect.
Train passenger Oliver, in his 20s, was left waiting outside the station while the incident took place.
When the train then pulled into the station, he was able to snap a clear picture.
Oliver said: “We went through Banbury on the way to Basingstoke.
"Just before we got there, they said on the tannoy that we couldn’t go to Banbury and they're delaying train as they think there’s an escaped terrorist at station.
“It was a 15-minute wait – when we pulled into the station he was right outside my window – it looked like him a lot.
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“When we were waiting at Banbury I was a bit worried at first, I was thinking a lot of things – is he on the track, is he trying to get on the train, what's going to happen.
“It was a bit daunting at first but I'm glad they told us correct info because sometimes they withhold it.”
Thames Valley Police said: "Officers dealt with a possible sighting of a wanted male at Banbury Train Station this afternoon.
"It was not the person we were looking for and the incident has been stood down. Thank you for your support at the time."
The Metropolitan police said in a statement reported by the Guardian: "We are aware of a man being stopped by police in the Banbury area earlier today.
"We have liaised with colleagues in Thames Valley and confirmed the man in question is not Daniel Khalife."
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