Brit mum jailed in Iran in cancer scare after finding ‘lumps on her breasts’ – as family vow to stand by Boris Johnson
THE husband of a Brit mum jailed in Iran insisted Boris Johnson should not be sacked.
In an emotional statement, Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe's husband Richard insisted the the Foreign Secretary's resignation would create even more instability and was in no one’s interest.
He said Mr Johnson had a “crucial role” in trying to bring her home – as well as trying to secure diplomatic protection for his wife.
It came as Richard Ratcliffe said his wife was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and was undergoing tests for breast cancer.
And he revealed Iranian TV had once more used the Foreign Secretary’s gaffe - that she was in Iran teaching journalists - to defend its arrest the Mum on trumped up spy charges 18 months ago.
In a statement last night he said: “The report on Saturday repeated the argument that the Foreign Secretary had revealed Nazanin’s crimes, which he had been reluctant to comment on.
“[Nazanin] expressed anger at [Iran’s Revolutionary Guards] but also at the Foreign Secretary, that it had become such a shambles.
“Anger at the original comments, angry at the footage of avoiding the question.”
The statement last night came just an hour after Nazanin’s local MP – Labour’s Tulip Siddiq – claimed she had been left “sobbing inconsolably” at Boris Johnson’s mistake.
She said: "My constituent Richard Ratcliffe, has spoken to Nazanin and she was sobbing down the phone, she was inconsolable and she just said that she couldn't believe that Boris Johnson could make those comments that would endanger her life.
"What I want to make clear is that this is not something we can dismiss as a joke, a gaffe, a blunder - you know, 'Boris will be Boris'.
"This is life or death. This is about a young mother who could die if the Foreign Secretary doesn't retract his comments promptly, if he doesn't go to Iran and get her back."
The Foreign Secretary told MPs she was teaching journalists – when the family insist she was merely on holiday visiting relatives. This is also the Government’s official position.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove sparked fresh uproar yesterday by saying he had no idea what Nazanin had been doing before she was arrested.
Challenged by the BBC he replied: “I don’t know.”
Mr Ratcliffe – who gets to speak with his wife for an hour a week – spoke to Boris Johnson for 20 minutes yesterday to try and set up a face-to-face meeting this week. The “Free
Nazanin” campaign said: “The Foreign Secretary said he was deeply sorry for Nazanin’s suffering and that she had the support of the whole country.
“Nazanin’s husband also thanked the Foreign Secretary for the call and and asked him to pass on his tanks to the Foreign Office special cases team for their kindness and care.”
