Escaped terror suspect Daniel Khalife is accused of spying for Iran, GB News sources have confirmed.
Gathering information which might prove useful to an enemy is one of three charges the 21-year-old faces. The offence comes under the Official Secrets Act.
Khalife also faces charges of planting fake bombs and trying to illicit information which could be usual to terrorists.
Police are still non-the-wiser of the location of the missing 21-year-old nearly 36 hours after he first escaped from Wandsworth prison.
Police have closed a stretch of the M20 in Kent as they continue their manhunt.
Part of the coastbound carriageway between Junction 8 for Leeds Castle and Junction 9 for Ashford have been closed to allow for extra security checks.
Kent police chief superintendent Simon Alland said: “The closure of the M20 is an emergency measure that is only used following consultation with our partners in the Kent Resilience Forum (KRF) and after a thorough assessment of issues including public safety and traffic volumes.”
Khalife escaped from Wandsworth prison on Wednesday morning after "sneaking out of the kitchen" and "clinging onto a delivery van".
Authorities will continue to “monitor the situation closely in order to restore the motorway to its full capacity as soon as possible.”
He was due to stand trial at Woolwich Crown Court in south east London in November.
A prison source claims staff realised he had vanished at around 7am - almost an hour before police were alerted.
GB News sources confirm that authorities were aware the prisoner was on the run quickly, "in a matter of minutes, not hours".
The public were later informed about the missing prisoner just before 4pm on Wednesday.
A short while later, at around 5pm, Commander Dominic Murphy, Head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command made a police statement outside the Met's headquarters.
Speaking to GB News, Former Metropolitan Police Detective Peter Bleksley claims the 21-year-old could be part of a criminal network who helped plan his escape.
Bleksley said: "There's going to be two specific ways of looking at this, has Daniel Khalife gone on the run on his own, or is he supported by a network of people? And they'll be quite a different approach.
"If however, this is preplanned and he is supported by a network of fellow minded criminals, then of course he could have cash, shelter, change of clothing, false passport, a number of things and he may already have left the country."
He added: "Desperate people do desperate things. We will have to wait and see."
Speaking at the press conference, Commander Dominic Murphy said: "At 07.50 today, a male called Daniel Khalife escaped from Wandsworth Prison where he was on remand for Counter Terrorism and Official Secrets Act charges.
"I am urgently appealing to the public to help us find Daniel Khalife, who could be at large anywhere in the UK. He has connections to London and the North West, but we're focused on anywhere in the UK.
The suspected terrorist was previously labelled a flight risk, after going missing for more than three weeks after the bomb hoax before his arrest
Met Police
"My appeal to the public is whilst he presents a low risk, please do not approach Daniel Khalife, call 999 and the police will respond wherever you're calling from in the country. Our effort is to try and bring him back to custody so he can stand trial."
The suspected terrorist was previously labelled a flight risk, after going missing for more than three weeks after the bomb hoax before his arrest on January 26.
Prison authorities are now facing serious questions about the “staggering lapse” of security.
Wandsworth was labelled a “crumbling, overcrowded, vermin-infested prison” in its most recent inspection.
Khalife was last seen wearing a prison-issue chef's uniform of a white T-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown steel toe cap boots, police said.
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has ordered an investigation into the escape.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: "An internal investigation is under way and the justice secretary is working to understand from operational colleagues this evening both the categorisation decision and the situation that led to the escape, what protocols were in place and if they were followed."
