Quotes
He doesn’t think about what he is going to do, he gets things in his brain.”
His mother, Farnaz Khalife, 48, a former nurse, said
I’ve done something bad.”
After his arrest on spying charges, he went to see his mother at her new home in Wales and told herHe was too junior, he didn’t have access to intelligence, he didn’t have an important role. He’s a nobody.”
She addedMe and my family are against the regime in Iran,
he told the jury
Daniel Khalife used his employment to undermine national security,
said Bethan David from the Crown Prosecution ServiceWhilst in some element of what he was doing seems to be almost a fantasy that he had formed in his own head, the reality is he was having a very, very substantial impact. So he is, I think, the ultimate Walter Mitty character. The problem is, he's a Walter Mitty character that was having an extremely significant impact in the real world.”
Commander Dominic Murphy said
I shouted up, ‘Please don’t use that language,’ ... I get shouted at at work and when I get home I get shouted at”.
he said, with Khalife shooting back self-pityinglyThey kept themselves to themselves,
was a phrase that was repeatedly applied to the trioWe had no indication that he was that way inclined.”
Another local family was similarly shocked and surprised, with the father sayingI don’t think anyone really knew them,
said another womanHe was just an ordinary, normal teenager. When I saw him on the street he said ‘hello’ and was polite. He’s a nice, sweet boy – I never thought he would do something like that.”
One woman – who lives on the road in Kingston, south-west London, where Khalife, his twin sister and mother lived for around a decade after moving from Marylebone, Westminster – saidFrom 9am to midnight, the three of them would watch TV all day – never socialise with us or mingle.”
He saidI wanted to utilise my background to further our national security,
Khalife told the jurors during his trial
He was friendly towards me. Quite jovial. He was pleasant. He congratulated me on catching him.”
Asked about his demeanour, the officer saidWhen the tail lift raised it covered me entirely,
Khalife told the courtThe Thames Valley police detention at the train station, I was watching the live footage of that and I was convinced it was Daniel Khalife,
said Murphy
He describes the Iranians as incompetent and unprofessional. That is not our experience. We have disrupted 20 plots – including some assassination plots,
said MurphyThere is no way of knowing everything Daniel Khalife exposed.”
Murphy addedIt is difficult to disentangle [Khalife’s] ego – the fantasy he created, the money he earned, and his inability to understand the damage he was causing here,
Commander Dominic Murphy of Scotland Yard’s SO15 counter-terrorism unit told reporters, when asked about Khalife’s motivation to work for TehranHe is, I think, the ultimate Walter Mitty character
Following the verdicts, Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met Police’s counter-terror command, said of Khalife