'Crammed into a cell with vermin at New Year'

01.01.2026

The family of two Britons detained in Iran say they were unable to speak to UK Foreign Office officials who visited the couple due to government "holiday schedules".

Iranian authorities arrested Craig and Lindsay Foreman, an East Sussex couple on an around-the-world motorbike trip, in January 2025.

According to their son Joe Bennett, a consular visit took place on Monday but family "haven't been allowed to speak to the team" who saw them "because it's their holidays".

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: "We continue to provide the Foremans with consular assistance and remain in close contact with their family members."

Mr Bennett, of Folkestone in Kent, said: "Meanwhile, Craig is crammed into a cell with 160 people, surrounded by violence, vermin and disease, with no soap and no medical care.

"This is not good enough. It feels like the families are an afterthought."

The couple has been accused of espionage, which their family said was "ludicrous".

They have appeared in court several times but have not been officially tried or convicted.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said the government was "deeply concerned" and continued to "raise this case directly with the Iranian authorities".

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is understood to have raised the case when she spoke to her Iranian counterpart in December.

The government advises against all travel to Iran because of a "significant risk" of arrest and says connections to the UK "can be reason enough for the Iranian authorities to detain you".

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