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Lindsay and Craig Foreman have been held on espionage charges since January
Holly EvansThursday 27 November 2025 11:47 GMTComments
open image in galleryLindsay and Craig Foreman were taken into custody in January (Family handout/PA) (Family handout)
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The son of a British couple who have been detained in Iran on espionage charges have accused the UK government of failing to do enough to secure their release.
Craig and Lindsay Foreman were arrested and incarcerated in Kerman in January while undertaking a motorcycle tour around the world.
The couple, from East Sussex, have denied the spying allegations.
Speaking to Sky News, their son Joe Bennett said there were too many similarities with British-Iranian national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s case, after she was incarcerated by the regime between 2016 and 2022.
open image in galleryThe couple had embarked on a round-the-world motorcycle tour (Family handout)"They themselves are being very passive," he said of the UK government.
"They've got two UK citizens that are accused of spying for the British state, but they're not coming out and defending them and calling [it out] for what it is.
"You need to stand up for your citizens and call it out."
He dismissed Iran’s accusation that his mother and her partner had been partaking in espionage and accused the regime of “hostage-taking”.
"If they're on charges of shoplifting, potentially that's understandable, let's see the court of law, let's go through it if they've been caught of some wrongdoing," he said.
"They haven't, and they've been accused of espionage, which is state-level political charges, right?
"They're not spies, it's quite simple."
open image in galleryRichard Ratcliffe said he hope’s the Government’s response is quicker than it was when his wife, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, was arrested and detained (Victoria Jones/PA) (PA Archive)Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband Richard is also supporting Mr Bennett's case.
He told Sky News: "It does feel to me that I'm hearing too many echoes of our experience in the experience of Joe's family and others."
In October, Mr Bennett said he had spoken to his mother for the second time since she was detained, after she was permitted a 20-minute call from prison.
“There was very little my mother could say. Her spirits were low. She told me that a further recent court appearance last week had not gone well.
“We had been told to expect a verdict rather than another appearance. I don’t know exactly what that means, but I could feel she’s losing hope,” he said.
The couple had been separated and moved to different jails in Tehran in August, before being reunited in October in the notorious Evin prison, where Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe had also been held.
A Foreign Office (FCDO) spokesperson said: “We are deeply concerned by reports that Craig and Lindsay Foreman have been charged with espionage in Iran. We continue to raise this case directly with the Iranian authorities.
“The FCDO are providing them with consular assistance and remain in close contact with their family members.”
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