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Boris Johnson a security risk, says husband of Zaghari-Ratcliffe Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband calls Boris Johnson a security risk
(32 minutes later)
Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of the imprisoned British-Iranian dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, has described a Boris Johnson premiership as a potential threat to national security.Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of the imprisoned British-Iranian dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, has described a Boris Johnson premiership as a potential threat to national security.
Ratcliffe, who is on hunger strike outside the Iranian embassy to protest against his wife’s continued detention by Tehran, said: “Johnson’s failure to take responsibility for his own mistakes makes me question his ability to protect our security.” Ratcliffe, who is on hunger strike outside the Iranian embassy in London to protest against his wife’s continued detention by Tehran, said: “Johnson’s failure to take responsibility for his own mistakes makes me question his ability to protect our security.”
He said his protest was getting under the skin of the embassy staff and leading to increasing levels of harassment. He said his protest was getting under the skin of embassy staff and leading to an increase in harassment.
Ratcliffe earlier accused Johnson of making mistakes and false promises that have enabled his wife’s Iranian jailers to discredit the case for her release.
Ratcliffe said a story in the Sun newspaper, written on the day he met Johnson as foreign secretary, had both given him false hope and antagonised the Iranians.
The story claimed Johnson had won a Whitehall agreement to repay a £400m debt owed by the British government to the Iranians arising from the sale of Chieftain tanks in the 1970s.
He said the story turned out to be a bigger problem to her cause than an earlier mistake by Johnson at a foreign affairs select committee hearing at which he said Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been teaching journalism in Tehran. Her family insist she was only on holiday.
Ratcliffe said the mistake by Johnson at the select committee hearing was still being used by Iranian news outlets to justify laying a second set of charges against her.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband: I will join hunger strike for as long as I canNazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband: I will join hunger strike for as long as I can
Ratcliffe’s allies say the select committee hearing may have been an off-the-cuff mistake, but the briefing of the Sun newspaper was a considered decision by a senior political figure in the Foreign Office that raised expectations in Tehran, but served only to deepen the sense of distrust of Johnson. Ratcliffe had earlier accused Johnson of making mistakes and false promises that enabled his wife’s Iranian jailers to discredit the case for her release.
Ratcliffe, speaking on BBC radio, said: “Promises have consequences. Perhaps the bigger problem was when the press was briefed the money was going to be paid. Expectations were raised. He [Johnson] said no stone was going to be left unturned and obviously that did not happen. She remains in prison and others have been arrested and so we have gone from ‘no stone unturned’ to ‘not my fault’.” Ratcliffe said a story in the Sun newspaper, written on the day he met Johnson as foreign secretary, had given him false hope and antagonised the Iranians.
Johnson, in Tuesday evening’s BBC TV Conservative leadership debate, claimed his mistake at the select committee had made no difference, but he has never been asked whether he played a role in the briefing of the press about the repayment of the Chieftain tank debt. The story claimed Johnson had won a Whitehall agreement to repay a £400m debt owed by the British government to the Iranians arising from the sale of Chieftain tanks in the 1970s.
He said the story turned out to be a bigger problem for her cause than an earlier mistake by Johnson at a foreign affairs select committee hearing, in which he said Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been teaching journalism in Tehran. Her family insist she was on holiday.
Ratcliffe said the mistake by Johnson at the hearing was still being used by Iranian news outlets to justify laying a second set of charges against her.
His allies say the error at the hearing may have been off the cuff, but the Sun briefing was a considered decision by a senior political figure in the Foreign Office that raised expectations in Tehran, but served only to deepen the distrust of Johnson.
Ratcliffe, speaking on BBC radio, said: “Promises have consequences. Perhaps the bigger problem was when the press was briefed the money was going to be paid. Expectations were raised. He [Johnson] said no stone was going to be left unturned and obviously that did not happen. She remains in prison and others have been arrested, and so we have gone from ‘no stone unturned’ to ‘not my fault’.”
Johnson, in the BBC TV Conservative leadership debate on Tuesday, claimed his mistake at the select committee had made no difference, but he has never been asked whether he played a role in the briefing of the press about the repayment of the Chieftain tank debt.
The story in the Sun, marked “exclusive”, said Johnson and the chancellor, Philip Hammond, had authorised government lawyers to finally settle the 38-year dispute over the tank deal.
In fact, resistance in Whitehall, both in the Ministry of Defence and the Treasury, left Iran still fighting in the courts last month to recoup the money, as well as the outstanding interest.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is arrested at Imam Khomeini airport as she is trying to return to Britain after a holiday visiting family with her daughter, Gabriella.Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is arrested at Imam Khomeini airport as she is trying to return to Britain after a holiday visiting family with her daughter, Gabriella.
Her husband, Richard Radcliffe, delivers a letter to David Cameron in 10 Downing Street, demanding the government do more for her release.Her husband, Richard Radcliffe, delivers a letter to David Cameron in 10 Downing Street, demanding the government do more for her release.
She is sentenced to five years in jail. Her husband says the exact charges are still being kept a secret.She is sentenced to five years in jail. Her husband says the exact charges are still being kept a secret.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's health deteriorates after she spends several days on hunger strike in protest at her imprisonment.Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's health deteriorates after she spends several days on hunger strike in protest at her imprisonment.
Iran’s supreme court upholds her conviction.Iran’s supreme court upholds her conviction.
Boris Johnson, then Foreign Secretary, tells a parliamentary select committee "When we look at what [she] was doing, she was simply teaching people journalism". Four days after his comments, Zaghari-Ratcliffe is returned to court, where his statement is cited in evidence against her. Her employers, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, deny that she has ever trained journalists, and her family maintain she was in Iran on holiday. Johnson is eventually forced to apologise for the "distress and anguish" his comments cause the family.Boris Johnson, then Foreign Secretary, tells a parliamentary select committee "When we look at what [she] was doing, she was simply teaching people journalism". Four days after his comments, Zaghari-Ratcliffe is returned to court, where his statement is cited in evidence against her. Her employers, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, deny that she has ever trained journalists, and her family maintain she was in Iran on holiday. Johnson is eventually forced to apologise for the "distress and anguish" his comments cause the family.
Her husband reveals that Zaghari-Ratcliffe has fears for her health after lumps had been found in her breasts that required an ultrasound scan, and that she was now “on the verge of a nervous breakdown”.Her husband reveals that Zaghari-Ratcliffe has fears for her health after lumps had been found in her breasts that required an ultrasound scan, and that she was now “on the verge of a nervous breakdown”.
New Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt meets with Richard Ratcliffe, and pledges "We will do everything we can to bring her home."New Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt meets with Richard Ratcliffe, and pledges "We will do everything we can to bring her home."
She is granted a temporary three day release from prison.She is granted a temporary three day release from prison.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe is on hunger strike again, in protest at the withdrawal of her medical care.Zaghari-Ratcliffe is on hunger strike again, in protest at the withdrawal of her medical care.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt takes the unusual step of granting her diplomatic protection - a move that raises her case from a consular matter to the level of a dispute between the two states.Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt takes the unusual step of granting her diplomatic protection - a move that raises her case from a consular matter to the level of a dispute between the two states.
The UK upgrades its travel advice to British-Iranian dual nationals, for the first time advising against all travel to Iran. The advice also urges Iranian nationals living in the UK to exercise caution if they decide to travel to Iran.The UK upgrades its travel advice to British-Iranian dual nationals, for the first time advising against all travel to Iran. The advice also urges Iranian nationals living in the UK to exercise caution if they decide to travel to Iran.
Richard Ratcliffe joins his wife in a new hunger strike campaign. He fasts outside the Iranian embassy in London as she began a third hunger strike protest in prison.Richard Ratcliffe joins his wife in a new hunger strike campaign. He fasts outside the Iranian embassy in London as she began a third hunger strike protest in prison.
The story in the Sun, marked “exclusive”, said Johnson and the chancellor, Philip Hammond, had authorised government lawyers to finally settle the 38-year-long dispute over the tank deal. Ratcliffe is on hunger strike in solidarity with his wife, who is herself on hunger strike in a Tehran jail over the continued threats to impose a second set of charges against her.
In fact, resistance in Whitehall, both in the Ministry of Defence and the Treasury, has left Iran still fighting in the courts last month to recoup the money, as well as the outstanding interest. Ratcliffe accused Tehran of using her jailing as a pawn in a wider diplomatic battle with the UK both over the tank debt and more broadly to press the UK to do more to support the Iran nuclear deal.
Ratcliffe is on hunger strike outside the Iranian embassy in London in solidarity with his wife, who is herself on hunger strike in a Tehran jail over the continued threats to impose a second set of charges against her. Asked if Johnson was wrong to say his words at the hearing had made no difference, Ratcliffe said: “Yes, of course they had consequences. The main difference they had is obviously they enabled a propaganda campaign that was run against Nazanin a couple of weeks afterwards, accusing her of being a spy and that the foreign secretary had proved it. It has very traumatic consequences for her.
Ratcliffe accused Tehran of using her jailing as a pawn in a wider diplomatic battle with the UK both over the Chieftain tank debt and more broadly to press the UK to do more to support the Iran nuclear deal signed in 2015.
Asked if Johnson was wrong to say his words at the select committee made no difference, Ratcliffe said: “Yes, of course they had consequences. The main difference they had is obviously they enabled a propaganda campaign that was run against Nazanin a couple of weeks afterwards accusing her of being a spy and that the foreign secretary had proved it. It has very traumatic consequences for her.
“It was used to justify the second court case. It did not cause the second court case, but was used to justify it and has been used to discredit her ever since. A couple of weeks ago there was stuff on Press TV, an Iranian press outlet, again recycling his words, saying, listen, the foreign secretary confirmed she was there working when she was not.”“It was used to justify the second court case. It did not cause the second court case, but was used to justify it and has been used to discredit her ever since. A couple of weeks ago there was stuff on Press TV, an Iranian press outlet, again recycling his words, saying, listen, the foreign secretary confirmed she was there working when she was not.”
Jeremy Hunt, the current foreign secretary and a rival for the Tory leadership, refused to criticise Johnson, saying it would be incredibly unseemly for any kind of point-scoring, adding: “My job is to get her out.” Jeremy Hunt, the current foreign secretary and a rival for the Tory leadership, refused to criticise Johnson, saying point scoring would be unseemly. “My job is to get her out,” he added.
Nazanin Zaghari-RatcliffeNazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe
Iran
Boris JohnsonBoris Johnson
Iran
Conservative leadership
Foreign policyForeign policy
Iran nuclear dealIran nuclear deal
Conservative leadership
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