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| Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe says freedom will ‘never be complete’ while others remain detained in Iran – live | Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe says freedom will ‘never be complete’ while others remain detained in Iran – live |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Latest updates: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe calls for release of Morad Tahbaz and thanks ‘amazing’ husband during first press conference since return | Latest updates: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe calls for release of Morad Tahbaz and thanks ‘amazing’ husband during first press conference since return |
| Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe thanks her family, and in particular her “wonderful husband”. | Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe thanks her family, and in particular her “wonderful husband”. |
| She thanks her medical team in Iran, who supported her, and her lawyer in the country, who fought “fearlessly” for her release. | She thanks her medical team in Iran, who supported her, and her lawyer in the country, who fought “fearlessly” for her release. |
| Referring to Morad Tahbaz (see 11.59am), she says freedom will never be complete until all those unjustly detained in Iran are released. | Referring to Morad Tahbaz (see 11.59am), she says freedom will never be complete until all those unjustly detained in Iran are released. |
| And she says she is less appreciative of Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, than her husband has been. She says there have been five foreign secretaries since she was first detained. It should not have taken that many to get her out, she says. She says it was going to happen eventually. | And she says she is less appreciative of Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, than her husband has been. She says there have been five foreign secretaries since she was first detained. It should not have taken that many to get her out, she says. She says it was going to happen eventually. |
| She says she has a lot of catching up to do with her family. She appeals for privacy. | She says she has a lot of catching up to do with her family. She appeals for privacy. |
| And she thanks the media for their work publicising her case. | And she thanks the media for their work publicising her case. |
| UPDATE: Here is the PA report from what Zaghari-Ratcliffe said: | UPDATE: Here is the PA report from what Zaghari-Ratcliffe said: |
| Boris Johnson has reaffirmed his commitment to speeding up the construction of new nuclear power plants in the UK. After his roundtable meeting with nuclear industry leaders, No 10 released a readout of the event saying: | |
| Downing Street also said that Johnson would publish the government’s energy security strategy before the end of this month. Last week Johnson said it would be published this week, but it has been reported that Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, said more time was needed to assess the potential costs of the push for nuclear. | |
| The Russian state was responsible for hoax calls to Ben Wallace and Priti Patel, pretending to be the Ukrainian prime minister, Downing Street has said. My colleague Rowena Mason has the story here. | The Russian state was responsible for hoax calls to Ben Wallace and Priti Patel, pretending to be the Ukrainian prime minister, Downing Street has said. My colleague Rowena Mason has the story here. |
| Here is my colleague Aubrey Allegretti’s story about the new allegations about the Nowzad animal charity being prioritised for evacuation from Afghanistan last summer. | Here is my colleague Aubrey Allegretti’s story about the new allegations about the Nowzad animal charity being prioritised for evacuation from Afghanistan last summer. |
| An earlier post, at 11.36am, said that a Foreign Office whistleblower has published evidence claiming that officials lied about Boris Johnson’s role in authorising the evacuation of animals from the Nowzad charity from Kabul last summer. In fact, the new evidence refers to Johnson approving the decision to authorise the evacuation of the Nowzad staff, not their animals. I am sorry for the error and have corrected the original post. | An earlier post, at 11.36am, said that a Foreign Office whistleblower has published evidence claiming that officials lied about Boris Johnson’s role in authorising the evacuation of animals from the Nowzad charity from Kabul last summer. In fact, the new evidence refers to Johnson approving the decision to authorise the evacuation of the Nowzad staff, not their animals. I am sorry for the error and have corrected the original post. |
| This is from Patrick Dunleavy, an emeritus professor of politics, saying that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was right to identify high ministerial turnover (see 2.15pm) as one of the problems bedevilling British politics. | This is from Patrick Dunleavy, an emeritus professor of politics, saying that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was right to identify high ministerial turnover (see 2.15pm) as one of the problems bedevilling British politics. |
| For most of the last six years Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has, thanks to the campaigning efforts of her husband, been a public figure in the UK. Yet almost no one had heard her voice, and everything we knew about her – which was relatively little, in terms of her manner and character – came from what we were told about her by other people. Normally the main point of a press conference is find out what someone has to say but today was probably just as much about learning what Zaghari-Ratcliffe is actually like. | For most of the last six years Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has, thanks to the campaigning efforts of her husband, been a public figure in the UK. Yet almost no one had heard her voice, and everything we knew about her – which was relatively little, in terms of her manner and character – came from what we were told about her by other people. Normally the main point of a press conference is find out what someone has to say but today was probably just as much about learning what Zaghari-Ratcliffe is actually like. |
| As some of the snap reaction on Twitter shows (see 1.16pm), the answer is clear; she was hugely impressive – dignified, moving, honest. She seemed commendably free of bitterness. And she came across as steely too. She was very firm about not wanting to answer questions that would force her to relive her ordeal, and there was a candid moment when she admitted that she was not willing to thank the government as generously as her husband. (See 12.21pm.) Mostly she avoided being overtly political, but she managed to deliver a clear political rebuke; the government should have done more to free her, she indicated. | As some of the snap reaction on Twitter shows (see 1.16pm), the answer is clear; she was hugely impressive – dignified, moving, honest. She seemed commendably free of bitterness. And she came across as steely too. She was very firm about not wanting to answer questions that would force her to relive her ordeal, and there was a candid moment when she admitted that she was not willing to thank the government as generously as her husband. (See 12.21pm.) Mostly she avoided being overtly political, but she managed to deliver a clear political rebuke; the government should have done more to free her, she indicated. |
| Here are the main points. | Here are the main points. |
| Zaghari-Ratcliffe suggested ministers should have done more to secure her release from Iran. Pointing out that there have been five foreign secretaries since she was detained in 2016, she said: | Zaghari-Ratcliffe suggested ministers should have done more to secure her release from Iran. Pointing out that there have been five foreign secretaries since she was detained in 2016, she said: |
| Her husband, Richard, has thanked Liz Truss, the current foreign secretary, for her work on the case, but Zaghari-Ratcfliffe indicated that she was more sceptical, saying she did not agree with his positive comments about the government. She said: | Her husband, Richard, has thanked Liz Truss, the current foreign secretary, for her work on the case, but Zaghari-Ratcfliffe indicated that she was more sceptical, saying she did not agree with his positive comments about the government. She said: |
| The foreign secretaries have been, in order: Philip Hammond, Boris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt, Dominic Raab and Truss. | The foreign secretaries have been, in order: Philip Hammond, Boris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt, Dominic Raab and Truss. |
| Zaghari-Ratcliffe called for the release of other dual nationals being held in Iran. She said: | Zaghari-Ratcliffe called for the release of other dual nationals being held in Iran. She said: |
| Tulip Siddiq, Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s MP, said she had written to the foreign affairs committee asking for an inquiry into the case. In particular, she said it was important to find out why it took so long for the UK to settle the £400m debt it owed Iran and why it took so long for Zaghari-Ratcliffe to be freed. She also suggested an incident in 2013, when Iranian officials coming to the UK to negotiate the debt repayment were detained, may have led to Zaghari-Ratcliffe being taken as effectively a hostage. (See 2.11pm.) | Tulip Siddiq, Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s MP, said she had written to the foreign affairs committee asking for an inquiry into the case. In particular, she said it was important to find out why it took so long for the UK to settle the £400m debt it owed Iran and why it took so long for Zaghari-Ratcliffe to be freed. She also suggested an incident in 2013, when Iranian officials coming to the UK to negotiate the debt repayment were detained, may have led to Zaghari-Ratcliffe being taken as effectively a hostage. (See 2.11pm.) |
| Zaghari-Ratcliffe said that, although she felt she had a “black hole” in her heart when she was detained, she was determined not to hold a grudge about her experience. (See 12.29pm.) | Zaghari-Ratcliffe said that, although she felt she had a “black hole” in her heart when she was detained, she was determined not to hold a grudge about her experience. (See 12.29pm.) |
| Richard Ratcliffe said that he was now retiring as a campaigner and he asked for his family to be given privacy as they recovered from their ordeal. “We will disappear off and heal a bit,” he said. | Richard Ratcliffe said that he was now retiring as a campaigner and he asked for his family to be given privacy as they recovered from their ordeal. “We will disappear off and heal a bit,” he said. |
| Here is some reaction to the press conference from journalists. | Here is some reaction to the press conference from journalists. |
| From Sky’s Sarah-Jane Mee | From Sky’s Sarah-Jane Mee |
| From the ITV broadcaster Julie Etchingham | From the ITV broadcaster Julie Etchingham |
| From the Daily Mirror’s Pippa Crerar | From the Daily Mirror’s Pippa Crerar |
| From the broadcaster Matthew Stadlen | From the broadcaster Matthew Stadlen |
| From the Spectator’s Isabel Hardman | From the Spectator’s Isabel Hardman |
| And here’s an extract from Hardman’s piece. | And here’s an extract from Hardman’s piece. |
| From the Jewish Chronicle’s Stephen Pollard | From the Jewish Chronicle’s Stephen Pollard |
| This is from David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s press conference. | This is from David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s press conference. |
| Tulip Siddiq asks the panel if they have any final comments. | Tulip Siddiq asks the panel if they have any final comments. |
| Richard Ratcliffe says he wants to thank again their legal team. | Richard Ratcliffe says he wants to thank again their legal team. |
| Siddiq ends by asking the media not to bother Richard and Nazanin and Gabriella on their way out, and to respect their privacy. | Siddiq ends by asking the media not to bother Richard and Nazanin and Gabriella on their way out, and to respect their privacy. |
| And that’s it. I’ll post a summary shortly. | And that’s it. I’ll post a summary shortly. |