British couple in Iran remain on hunger strike as family urges prisoner swap

The family of a British couple jailed in Iran is urging officials to explore a prisoner exchange as Craig and Lindsay Foreman remain on hunger strike. The pair, from East Sussex, have been held since January 2025 and were sentenced in February to 10 years in prison on espionage charges they deny. Their son, Joe Bennett, says the family believes a swap involving an Iranian national held in the UK could offer a route to their release.

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Bennett said the couple's appeal was rejected and that the case has now moved to Iran's Supreme Court. He described the information reaching the family as limited and fragmented, and said contact with the pair had been restricted. According to Bennett, Craig Foreman is on day 30 of the hunger strike and Lindsay Foreman is on day 21.

He said the family's biggest concern was the impact of the protest on their physical and mental health. The Foreign Office has previously said it was disappointed by the appeal outcome and would continue working for the couple's return. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said arrangements of the kind being suggested could be made in principle, but added that the specifics in this case would not be right and that he was not sure the proposal was credible.

He also said he could not go into detail because that would undermine discussions with the Iranian side. The family says it wants to know what other options are being considered if a swap is not pursued. The case has become part of a wider pattern of diplomatic pressure around Britons detained in Iran, where legal processes are often described by families as opaque.

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In this case, the couple's son says the lack of clear information has made it difficult to understand what progress, if any, is being made. The suggestion of a prisoner exchange also highlights the sensitivity of negotiations involving detainees in both countries. Such cases can become tied to broader relations between governments, even when the individuals involved deny the charges against them.

Bennett said there appeared to be strong interest in the UK-held prisoner from the Iranian side, and claimed there had been a point when release was possible. He said the family had been told the man had been held in a maximum-security prison in the UK for 23 years. He also said the current situation was the first sign of a possible resolution in 18 months, but argued that the government had not acted quickly enough.

The family's account suggests the case is now being viewed not only as a legal matter, but also as a potential diplomatic exchange. What remains unclear is whether any formal prisoner-swap proposal is under active consideration, and whether the Iranian authorities are willing to engage on that basis. It is also not known how the hunger strikes are affecting the couple's health or whether there has been any recent direct contact with them.

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