THE Wandsworth prison escape highlights chronic staffing shortages and lack of adequate training for staff, prison officers’ union POA warned today as it called for an urgent review.

Daniel Abed Khalife, who is accused of gathering information for Iran, went missing in his cook’s uniform from HMP Wandsworth yesterday, prompting extra security checks at major transport hubs.

The 21-year-old was awaiting trial for allegedly planting a fake bomb at an RAF base and gathering information that might be useful to terrorists.

He was discharged from the army in May.

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk said yesterday that an independent investigation will take place on the jailbreak.

He said that “strapping” was found underneath a delivery vehicle which he added may indicate Mr Khalife held on to the underside of it in order to escape.

The prison was among nine whose performance was deemed a “serious concern” in the annual prison performance ratings for 2022-23.

It was handed the same rating in other years over the issues, such as security and rehabilitation.

Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor said that staff shortages were “the source of many problems” at the prison, adding: “Something obviously went wrong in terms of security, and that will come out over time.”

Mr Taylor said it “should be standard practice” for vehicles entering and leaving the prison to be checked and a prisoner has to earn a “certain level of trust” in order to be allowed to work in a kitchen.

POA union national chairman Mark Fairhurst said that Wandsworth, which is one the largest prisons in the country, was overcrowded and under-resourced.

“The chronic staffing shortages and lack of adequate training for staff highlight the need for an urgent review of how our prisons are run,” he said.

“We await the results of an internal investigation so we may ensure this is not repeated.”

POA general secretary Steve Gillan added that the union had warned that cuts would have consequences.

He said: “You cannot take out £900 million from the budget with reduced staffing levels up and down the country and expect the Prison Service to operate as if nothing has happened.”

Mr Gillan said the government “needs to take responsibility for the decimation” of the service.

Downing Street said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has confidence in Mr Chalk over the handling of a prison escape and rejected blame for the incident being apportioned to cuts.