No child should have to go this long without their mother: Hunt's plea as he meets daughter of jailed Brit Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt today made an emotional plea to Iran for the release of jailed Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, saying: “No child should have to go this long without their mother.”

He made the impassioned call as he departed the country after apparently having a request to meet the 39-year-old charity worker from Hampstead rejected.

Her family welcomed Mr Hunt’s plea which signals a marked escalation in tone from the UK Government. Tehran is facing cooling international relations, following the US decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal and renew oil sanctions.

Mr Hunt met Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s parents, brother and her four-year-old daughter Gabriella, a British citizen who was separated from her mother when she was arrested in April 2016.

Today her husband Richard told the Evening Standard: “Mr Hunt bought presents for Gabriella and a little stuffed elephant, and his daughter who is also four made her a postcard with stickers on. Gabriella had drawn him a picture too. Nazanin had made two dolls, one for Gabriella and one for his daughter.

“She wanted to thank him for coming to Iran and for the effort he is putting in. I think Nazanin’s family were moved that he came and is paying such close attention to this.

“Personally, I was really pleased how clear and straightforward he was with his comments.

“Given the swirling vulnerabilities with Iranian and British politics, being clear and consistent on where the UK stands is important. If you say it’s not acceptable [to have jailed Nazanin], then everybody can understand each other.”

Mr Hunt tweeted: “No child should have to go this long without their mother. #FreeNazanin.”

During his first visit to the country as Foreign Secretary, he met foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to request Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s release and also discuss Donald Trump’s decision to re-impose sanctions and withdraw from an international accord over the Iranian nuclear programme.

There were hopes that Mr Hunt would be allowed to meet officials from the judiciary and Revolutionary Guard, who have the most control over the case, but this is not thought to have gone ahead.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was seized at Tehran airport as she tried to fly back home to London after a family holiday to introduce Gabriella, then 22 months old, to her parents.

She is serving a five-year sentence after being convicted of plotting to overthrow Iran’s Islamic clerical establishment, a charge denied by her family and the Foundation. She has been imprisoned in a wing for political prisoners in Evin jail.

Mr Hunt is the third senior government figure to fly to Iran to press the case for her release. Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson visited last year and Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt has also met Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family in Tehran.

Theresa May made a direct appeal to President Hassan Rouhani of Iran when they met at the fringes of a United Nations General Assembly meeting in September. Mr Ratcliffe said that there had been a “clear shift” from the Foreign Office in their approach and a hardening of their stance on Iran’s jailing of dual nationals. He added: “I spoke to Nazanin this morning. She said her stomach was like a dishwasher and she was stressed, but there is a little bit of hope.”

Mr Johnson sparked outrage this year when he suggested Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been teaching journalists in the country before her arrest, which the family deny. This is believed to have led to increased tensions over the affair.

She was released temporarily for three days over the summer when she was reunited with her daughter after two years apart. Since then her health has deteriorated.