Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: British mother jailed in Iran does not have breast cancer, her husband says

British woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been jailed in Iran, does not have breast cancer, her husband said.

Richard Ratcliffe said in an interview with Sky News that his wife, who is being held in Iran, was examined after finding lumps on her breasts but that they are not cancerous.

"She was taken to hospital 10 days ago and had a check-up again on Saturday. I spoke to her Sunday," he said.

"She had been given medication the week before, the lumps had responded to medication - that meant if they responded to medication they couldn't be cancerous.

"So she was hugely relieved - there's been so much going on."

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is due to have another ultrasound in three months, by which time "hopefully she can be seen by the NHS", he added.

Her husband told reporters that the mother-of-one’s mental state has suffered since a gaffe by Boris Johnson about her activities in Iran led to the threat of further charges.

The Foreign Secretary later apologised for the "distress" and "suffering" he caused by his suggestion that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was training journalists in Iran, which has exposed her to the threat of her five-year jail sentence being doubled.

Mr Ratcliffe said he hoped his wife would be home by Christmas after a "positive and constructive" meeting with Mr Johnson earlier this month.

Kate Allen, Amnesty International UK's director, called on the UK Government to take "concerted action" to secure Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's release.

"It's especially worrying hearing about her various health concerns, because the Iranian authorities have a track record of callously denying medical care to prisoners, especially in political cases, even when people have serious medical conditions," she added.

"The sooner the Foreign Secretary and other UK officials are able to convince the Iranian authorities of the urgent need to release Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the better."