Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Hunt will do 'everything' for jailed mum

Image source, Press Association

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has vowed to do everything possible to bring home a charity worker jailed in Iran, after meeting with her husband.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who is British-Iranian, was sentenced to five years in prison in 2016 for spying.

She denies all the allegations against her.

Mr Hunt met her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, on Thursday and described the situation as "shocking and desperate".

He said it was "good to meet Richard Ratcliffe and his family" and "they are showing extraordinary strength and resilience, as is Nazanin".

"We will do everything we can to bring her home", he added.

Last month the family said Boris Johnson's resignation had put her case "at the bottom of the pile".

While serving as foreign secretary Johnson faced criticism after telling a parliamentary committee that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been in Iran to train journalists, contradicting the claim that she was on holiday when she was arrested.

He later apologised and acknowledged this was not the case.

Image source, AFP

Image caption, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe says she was visiting her parents in Iran with her daughter, Gabriella.

In April Dr Ratcliffe said he was "disappointed" at Mr Johnson's failure to secure his wife's release.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for Thomson Reuters Foundation, is facing a further unspecified security charge, which her family believes includes a new allegation of spreading propaganda.

The 39-year-old, from Hampstead, north London, has consistently denied all the allegations, insisting she was on holiday to introduce her daughter to her family.