Family urges UK to explore prisoner swap for jailed Iran couple

The family of Craig and Lindsay Foreman has urged the UK to consider a prisoner exchange with Iran after the East Sussex couple’s appeal against their 10-year sentences was rejected, deepening a case that has dragged on for more than 500 days. Their son, Joe Bennett, said the government should ask why a swap is not being explored as the couple’s prospects narrowed.

Craig and Lindsay Foreman were detained in Iran in January 2025 while travelling on an around-the-world motorcycle trip. Iranian authorities accused them of espionage, a charge they have denied throughout. They were first held in Kerman before being moved to Tehran’s Evin Prison, and an Iranian court sentenced them to 10 years in prison in February 2026.

The family’s push now centers on a possible exchange involving an Iranian national in the UK, identified in reporting as Richard Jan, who is described as a convicted stalker serving a life sentence in Britain. The case has become a test of how far ministers are willing to go when diplomatic pressure, legal appeals and consular efforts have all run up against Tehran’s security system.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said the UK has been holding talks with Iran over the jailed couple and addressed the proposed prisoner swap. The Foreign Office has been involved in efforts to secure their release, but the family says successive appeals to ministers have not produced enough progress. Their public appeal reflects a familiar dilemma in cases of detention by hostile states: any deal that brings hostages home can also signal that the detention of Western nationals carries a negotiating value.

That tension is now at the center of the Foremans’ case. A swap could end the couple’s confinement in Evin Prison and bring relief to relatives in East Sussex, but it could also feed concern that future arrests of British citizens in Iran might be used as bargaining chips. With the appeal rejected and the sentence intact, the family is pressing for a more aggressive answer from London, arguing that the cost of inaction has already been measured in months of imprisonment and a case that shows no sign of moving on its own.