Emma Thompson urges Boris Johnson to ‘get on a plane’ as she leads march to help a British mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

The actress hit out at the “bunch of angry molecules bumping around Westminster”.
Chloe Chaplain25 November 2017
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Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson called on Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to "get on a plane" and do more to help a British woman imprisoned in Iran.

Thompson spoke out at a protest in north London where local mothers, politicians and the family of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe joined together to call for her release.

The actress hit out at a "bunch of angry molecules bumping around in Westminster" for not doing more to help Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been imprisoned in Tehran since April 2016.

The duel British-Iranian citizen was arrested at the city's airport after a holiday with her then 22-month-old daughter Gabriella.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her husband Richard Ratcliffe and their daughter Gabriella

Despite suffering from pneumonia, the 58-year-old Love Actually star appeared in Hampstead alongside Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband, Richard Ratcliffe, and her MP Tulip Siddiq.

Thompson called on Mr Johnson to take action after his suggestion that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was training journalists in Iran exposed her to the threat of her five-year jail sentence being doubled.

Emma Thompson marches in support of mother held in Iran

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She said: "We are a net of compassion and love for Nazanin and her family.

"This is what we human beings do best in stark contrast to the bunch of angry molecules bumping around in Westminster.

The group were staging a march calling for the government to do more to help Nazanin
REUTERS

"If I can get out of bed with pneumonia to support a horribly abused member of our community then our foreign secretary can get on a plane and go to Iran and deal with the problem he's so seriously exacerbated."

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe addressed those attending a rally, saying over the phone: "I'm so grateful for everybody's support and love... I am so overwhelmed and moved.

"All that is on my mind is to be back home and to be back with my family."

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's mental state has suffered since a gaffe by Boris Johnson about her activities in Iran led to the threat of further charges.

INazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her husband Richard Ratcliffe and their daughter Gabriella
PA

The Foreign Secretary later apologised for the "distress" and "suffering" he caused by his remarks, which has exposed her to the threat of her five-year jail sentence being doubled.

Mr Ratcliffe said earlier this month he hoped his wife would be home by Christmas after a "positive and constructive" meeting with Mr Johnson.

Ms Siddiq, the Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, said she had spoken to the British mother on the phone from prison.

The politician added: "We discussed how we would take both our daughters to Peppa Pig world when she's released."

Mrs Zaghari-Racliffe's husband, Richard Ratcliffe, said: "It is profoundly moving to see so many people here.

"I can really feel the love, and Nazanin can feel the love, and in the end that's the most important thing, that's what keeps us going."

The rally took place before a march to the Shia Islamic Centre of England in Maida Vale, north-west London, to hand in a "Mothers' Open Letter" asking for Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's release from the Tehran prison.

An online petition calling for her to be returned to Britain has had

more than 1.3 million signatures.

Kate Allen, Amnesty International UK's director, said: "Once again, it's inspiring to see so many people supporting Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her family this way.

"She's been put through a deeply unfair trial and could be facing a fresh charge, so it's extremely important that the recent political focus on Zaghari-Ratcliffe's case now translates into the Iranian authorities finally releasing her."

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