Police forces search for rapist

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Two police forces have teamed up to hunt a convicted rapist who escaped from a London hospital last Friday.

The Metropolitan Police and Merseyside Police are searching for Terrence O'Keefe, 39, who fled while visiting King's College Hospital for treatment.

O'Keefe, who is serving a life sentence, had been taken from a secure unit at Lambeth Hospital.

He escaped from the same hospital in 2005 and fled to Liverpool. Police said he should not be approached.

'Rigorous review'

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM), which runs Lambeth, said O'Keefe had been escorted by mental health professions from SLaM 24 hours a day.

The trust is now reviewing procedures as part of an inquiry into the escape, which happened at about 1400 GMT on Friday.

A joint statement from South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) and King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: "The circumstances surrounding this will be the subject of a rigorous joint review by both healthcare organisations.

"We are working closely with the police to ensure that the patient is recovered quickly and returned to care."

O'Keefe, who has a potentially life-threatening condition, is a light-skinned black man, last seen wearing a green fleece jumper, black jeans and tan-coloured boots.

Police said O'Keefe was considered dangerous.