British couple detained in Iran feel 'let down' and plead with Starmer to 'help us'

A British couple jailed for 10 years in Iran on "falsified" spying charges say they feel abandoned by the UK government - and have urged the prime minister to "step up and help us".

Speaking from prison in Tehran, Craig and Lindsay Foreman said they feel "let down, alone and completely frustrated" with how their situation is being handled.

The 53-year-olds, from East Sussex, were jailed last month following their arrest in January 2025 while travelling through Iran during a global trip by motorcycle. They deny the allegations.

The couple are being held in Tehran's notorious Evin prison, which they say has placed them in a "life-threatening situation" as it is in an active war zone.

In a statement, Mr Foreman said: "We were charged based on falsified evidence that was fabricated to suit the maximum sentence.

"Our government are fully aware of this information and know we are 100% innocent.

"We are proud to be British, but by now we feel let down, alone, and completely frustrated by the lack of public defence by the people in charge of the government.

"It's very difficult to understand why our innocence has not been said publicly. We are not spies. The charges against us are simply not true."

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He added that Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper "know we are innocent".

"Go public with the information - you have to clearly step up, step out of the shadows and help us. Our lives are constantly at risk," said Mr Foreman.

"We are now in a prison in a war zone. We have gone from a challenging situation to a life-threatening situation.

"You have chosen to give us zero information on what's happening to us, what to do and where to go if the prison doors were to open.

"There is a serious lack of commitment for our safety."

A family spokesperson said conditions inside the prison are "deteriorating rapidly" with basic essentials "running out" and medical care "absent".

Explosions are said to have struck close enough to send "shockwaves through the buildings, blowing out windows and forcing prisoners to dive for cover as debris falls around them".

Ms Foreman's son, Joe Bennett, called their detention a "slow-motion destruction".

He said: "My mum is in pieces. She's gone from always finding the positive to feeling completely lost.

"The sense that she's been abandoned by her own government is breaking her.

"They are being held in appalling conditions - sleeping on metal bunks without mattresses, in constant pain. Craig is in agony with an untreated dental abscess.

"They have nowhere to turn. This isn't just detention, it's slow-motion destruction."

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) warns all British and British-Iranian nationals not to travel to Iran because of a "significant risk of arrest, questioning or detention".

In a statement, a spokesperson for the FCDO said: "The welfare of British nationals detained in Iran is a priority for this government and continues to be during the current situation in the Middle East.

"Craig and Lindsay's sentences are completely appalling and totally unjustifiable.

"We will continue to pursue this case relentlessly with the Iranian regime until we see Craig and Lindsay safely returned to the UK and reunited with their family.

"We will continue to provide consular assistance to the couple and their families."

(c) Sky News 2026: British couple detained in Iran feel 'let down' and plead with Starmer to 'help us'