Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Government ready to bring daughter to London after Iran ordeal

The Government today said it stands “ready” to help return a British child to London after her British-Iranian mother was detained in Iran.

Two-year-old Gabriella Zaghari-Ratcliffe, of West Hampstead, is being looked after by her Iranian grandparents after her mother Nazanin was jailed on secret charges.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 37, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was arrested at Tehran airport in April after visiting her family with her daughter to celebrate Easter and the Iranian New Year.

In September she was sentenced to five years in prison.

Her husband Richard, 41, is campaigning for her release and the return of his daughter, whose passport was confiscated.

The Foreign Office said: “While we continue to press the Iranians for consular access and for due process to be followed, we also stand ready to help get her daughter back safely to the UK if requested.

"We are deeply concerned by reports that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been sentenced without confirmation of the charges made against her.

"The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have both raised her case with their counterparts in Iran and will continue to do so.”