Britain has spent almost £1m of taxpayers’ cash holding stalker at centre of Iran prisoner swap plea

Britain has spent almost £1 million of taxpayers’ money to keep an Iranian prosecutor at the center of a prisoner swap row for almost 16 years longer than his original minimum term. Independent can reveal.

Lindsay and Craig Foreman have called for Richard Jan, once described as Britain’s worst stalker, to be deported from the UK as they believe he could be key to their release from an Iranian prison.

The couple was detained 17 months ago while on a motorcycle tour in the country and sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of espionage.

They claim the British government failed to act on clear signals from Iranian officials that negotiating for their release was “the only way” for Jan, who languished in maximum security British prisons for 23 years as his health deteriorated.

The 59-year-old was eligible to be deported to Iran for the first time since the seven-and-a-half-year minimum duty period expired in August 2010. Despite multiple requests from Iranian authorities for him to return to the country, Britain has so far refused to deport him.

It is estimated that more than £900,000 of taxpayers’ cash has been spent incarcerating him in Category A prisons HMP Wakefield and HMP Frankland since his tariff ended, according to Ministry of Justice figures on annual costs per prisoner. This does not include the cost of healthcare services funded separately by NHS England.

Foreman’s son Joe Bennett questioned why England continued to waste taxpayers’ money by keeping Jan when Jan’s dismissal could have helped his parents return home.

“At a time when public finances are under huge pressure and people are being told there is no money for essential services, it is finding it increasingly difficult to justify spending close to £1 million to keep Richard Jan in prison beyond tariffs, especially if it does not lead to any meaningful progress or outcomes,” he said. Independent.

“If there is a solution to get Mom and Dad back, why aren’t we looking into it?”

joint investigation by Independent and Sky on Sunday revealed Jan’s case was raised six months ago by an Iranian official who held Lindsay and Craig, both 53, in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.

Her imprisonment was also raised during negotiations in 2021 for the release of British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was detained in Iran for six years before she was finally released after the British government paid off a £400 million arms debt to the country.

Despite the Foreign Office’s policy of not exchanging prisoners, Craig Foreman demanded that Britain take action. He said: “If it means they can get us out with a trade, why not?

“From what I’ve heard, I believe this man is quite old and ill at the moment. What harm could he do to the United Kingdom if he returns to Iran, of course through a prisoner exchange?”

Labor has made the elimination of foreign-born criminals a key priority, while home secretary Shabana Mahmood warned “we will send you packing” for breaking the law.

In August the government introduced new powers allowing foreign criminals to be deported after serving just 30 per cent of their sentences. Those serving life sentences, such as Jan, are being considered for deportation under the Tariff Expired Deportation Scheme after their minimum term has expired.

Jailed in 2004 for a terrifying stalking campaign against 200 victims, Jan was a dual British-Iranian citizen until he renounced his British passport in prison.

A deportation order was issued by the Home Office in 2013, but his removal was blocked by the Ministry of Justice in case it risked undermining public confidence in the justice system.

Without British citizenship he will never be released in this country, but the Parole Board has repeatedly refused to recommend his release to Iran because Iran will not be able to track him down there. This situation “effectively traps” him, according to his lawyer Mladen Kesar.

During his incarceration, Iranian authorities expressed concerns about his deteriorating mental and physical health and called for his deportation to Iran.

Mr Bennett’s MP Tony Vaughan said it was in the public interest to eliminate foreign criminals.

He called on the government to fully investigate whether Jan’s sacking would help the Foremans. he said Independent: “Given Iran’s history of hostage-taking this is an obvious issue that needs to be examined and I understand Her Majesty’s Government’s position that they do not exchange prisoners, but there is no need for this to be done through prisoner exchanges.

“There may be other ways of doing this, particularly in the case of Richard Jan, of meeting their legal obligation to deport foreign national criminals, which is in principle in the public interest.”

Until last week, Jan was detained with some of Britain’s worst murderers in Frankland, including Milly Dowler’s murderer Levi Bellfield and Sarah Everard’s murderer Wayne Couzens. But he was transferred to a secure hospital in recent days, according to his 90-year-old mother, Peggy Jan, who claimed he was “left to rot”.

Now almost 60, he mostly uses a wheelchair as he struggles with deteriorating health conditions.

Jan’s friend, chemistry teacher Peter Stanley, said Jan had “completed his sentence”, adding that murderers were usually released more quickly.

“I think they [the government] “They should discuss this issue with the Iranians and leave him to Iran where he will be better cared for,” he said. Independent.

“It could also be a win-win situation in the sense that it would be part of a swap where the British couple could be released at the same time. I really don’t see why the British government would be against the idea.”

The Iranian embassy confirmed that there were “long-standing demands” regarding Jan’s return to Iran, adding that they considered his case a “humanitarian” matter.

A UK government spokesman warned against publishing the Foreman family’s appeal, adding: “There is no truth to the allegations of a potential swap arrangement and giving credence to these allegations would not only be wrong but also risks hindering all other efforts this government is currently undertaking to secure the Foremans’ release.”

But appearing on Sky on Sunday, Justice Secretary David Lammy denied the government’s mind was “closed” to the exchange of ideas.

“These arrangements can be made,” he said. “It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to comment on the specifics because that would undermine our discussions with the Iranians.”

The Ministry of Justice declined to comment on the figures.