Boris Johnson has lied and broken promises over Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, says husband

‘Of course, politics is full of placebo promises. But promises made lightly by politicians can still weigh heavy on the shoulders of others’

While Boris Johnson campaigned to become prime minister Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of imprisoned Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, went on hunger strike outside the Iranian embassy (EPA)

Boris Johnson has been accused of falsehoods and ‘placebo promises’ over the continued imprisonment of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in Iran following accusations that his missteps as foreign secretary extended her time behind bars.

Mr Johnson was accused of playing into the regime’s hands when, during his tenure in the foreign office, he told a Commons committee the British-Iranian citizen had been “teaching people journalism” in the country when she was arrested on charges of espionage.

The claim was used by the nation as evidence to double her prison sentence, furthering allegations she had been spreading “propaganda against the regime”. Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her husband Richard Ratcliffe have maintained she was on holiday at the time of her arrest.

Now Mr Ratcliffe has accused the prime minister of falsely shifting the blame for her continued imprisonment away from himself – adding that he believed Mr Johnson’s decisions had led to even more people being held by the Iranian regime.

In a letter released to the public 100 days after it was received by No 10, Mr Ratcliffe said: “The mistakes of British foreign policy should not be falling on the shoulders of a mother and child.”

Referring to the Conservative party leadership contest, he added: “You insisted in this summer’s TV debates that your words in 2017 had had no consequences. Plainly, that was false.

“Your allies went further on the airwaves claiming that those who sought to blame you were apologists for the Iranian regime.”

“Of course, politics is full of placebo promises. But promises made lightly by politicians can still weigh heavy on the shoulders of others.

“It was never the original mistake that caused my resentment, so much as the consequences of the cover up”.

He went on to reference claims from an anonymous senior minister - reported at the time in The Sun - that the real reason for his wife’s continued detention was an outstanding £400m arms debt to the country owed by the UK.

Mr Ratcliffe suggested that other dual nationals were also in jail because of this failure to repay the debt.

However while this acknowledgement initially appeared to help matters – with a tentative release date set for Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe - the money was not forthcoming.

Mr Ratcliffe said: “It remains unclear why you did not keep your word when foreign secretary, or why you briefed the newspapers if you had no intention of acting.

“Given the events subsequently, it remains unclear why you are yet to act on your promise now with the authority of a PM, or at least to meet and explain. The word of a foreign secretary cannot be easily undone, especially when [they] become PM”.

The couple’s daughter Gabriella was returned to the UK for the first time since Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s imprisonment in October, having lived in Iran with her grandparents for three and a half years since her mother’s arrest.

Urging further action, Mr Ratcliffe said: “I am still keen to meet, not with the lawyers given your previous reluctance, but I would like to bring Gabriella.

“By meeting I would like you to affirm personally Nazanin’s importance and innocence, and your commitment to bringing Nazanin home”.

He added: “The job of a PM is not just to make headlines, but in the end to make a difference. That starts with protecting citizens at their most vulnerable, home and abroad.

“Flowery promises do not keep people safe. In fact, undelivered they can have the opposite effect. Know that your actions cemented Nazanin’s place. We look to your actions to bring her home.

“That promise remains on your desk. Until it is kept, the human cost for Nazanin and others will continue to grow”.