Arrested Daniel Khalife lookalike slams terror suspect’s four-mile getaway

A teenager arrested at a train station for looking like terror suspect Daniel Khalife has said he would like to quiz his apparent lookalike on how he allegedly only managed to escape four miles before being caught.

The nation was gripped when it was reported that former soldier Khalife had slipped out of a kitchen at HMP Wandsworth in London, and disappeared into the capital fixed to the underside of a food delivery van.

And as panicked officers rushed to man airports, sea ports and train stations to foil any escape, they briefly arrested 19-year-old Horatio Castille in Banbury, Oxfordshire, and promptly put him cuffs.

He had just done a short shift at work that morning, before making his way to Banbury railway station to go to London for a signing at a record shop for one of his favourite bands.

He heard over the intercom that the train he was planning to catch had been delayed due to a tresspasser on the track.

Suddenly he saw two police officers coming towards him and within seconds he was apprehended.

Horatio was told police had been called by a woman who said he looked very similar to the escaped prisoner and his life changed, with him becoming an internet sensation.

"It felt strange, not scary, just weird to be associated with someone like that," he told the Daily Star. "Even thinking about it now, like, for probably the rest of my life I’m going to be associated with that person.

"Even if it dies down, it’ll always be out there."

Khalife was finally snared, four days into his alleged escape, in Chiswick, West London soon after. Officers, dog handlers and helicopters scoured the area for days before he was finally busted cycling on a canal towpath.

Khalife, who was on remand changed with a string offences including espionage and planting fake bombs, was pulled off a pushbike by a plain-clothes officer on September 9, police said.

However, the reaction to Horatio was far from negative. Hundreds, maybe thousands, commented on his good looks on social media as the image of him smiling to officers whilst in cuffs went around the internet.

"It was nice to get that response from guys and girls, it was flattering because it’s not something I’ve ever really gotten in my life," he said.

"I always try to stay humble, and especially with this situation I’m not letting it go to my head."

Asked what he would ask alleged escapee Daniel Khalife if he was able to chat to him, Horatio rhymed off questions that have been bugging him since the suspect was reportedly captured just four miles from the prison.

"I’d probably ask him what was going on in his mind when he made the choices he did," Horatio told the Star.

"If he said he’s not guilty to all the charges, then why did he escape? Did he not have much faith that he would win the trial? Did he do the things they accused him of?

"Why did he not leave the city? Why did he not try and leave the country?

"Why did he get caught so easily? Part of me thinks he wanted to get caught."

Khalife appeared in court on Monday (September 11) charged with escaping from Wandsworth prison. Judge Ikram sent the case to the Old Bailey, with the next hearing provisionally set for September 29.

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