'I come away with no hope' says Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband after Foreign Office meeting

ITV News Correspondent Juliet Bremner reports on the hunger strike staged by Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband who has been left feeling hopeless after weeks outside

The husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has described a meeting with the Foreign Office as "depressing" and said he has "no hope" of being reunited with his wife who is being detained in Iran.

Richard Ratcliffe has been on a hunger strike for the past 19 days outside the Foreign Office to challenge the government's "inaction and failure" in the handling of Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe's case. 

He met with Foreign Office Minister James Cleverly following talks between UK government officials and Iran's deputy foreign minister, Ali Bagheri Kani.

Speaking after his meeting with Mr Cleverly, a clearly weakened and deflated Mr Ratcliffe said: "If I'm honest, it was quite a depressing meeting. In terms of what we got told, well, not much."

Why Richard Ratcliffe says he has lost faith in the government's strategy

Mr Ratcliffe began his demonstration last month after his wife lost her latest appeal in Iran, saying his family is "caught in a dispute between two states". It's his second hunger strike in two years. 

His protest has captured the hearts of many, with hundreds of people stopping by to wish him well, including television presenters Claudia Winkleman and Victoria Coren Mitchell. 

Who is Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe?

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian dual national, has been in custody in Iran since 2016 after being accused of plotting to overthrow the government.

She was taking the couple's daughter, Gabriella, to see her family when she was arrested and sentenced to five years in jail, spending four years in Evin Prison.

She spent the final year of her sentence under house arrest in Tehran, but after her release earlier this year she was then convicted of "spreading propaganda against the regime".According to her family, she was told by Iranian authorities that she was being detained because of the UK's failure to pay an outstanding £400 million debt to Iran for failing to deliver tanks in the 1970s.

Mr Ratcliffe said the government had "clammed up" and would not talk about the debt to Iran, saying: "We asked about the debt and they wouldn't talk about it, I mean really clammed up. He (Mr Cleverly) said 'our position is well known', and we said 'well, look, frankly it's not well known."

He said he had hoped there would be a breakthrough, but would now have to reevaluate their strategy and the hunger strike, especially after promising his wife that he "wouldn't take it too far". 

Mr Ratcliffe said his expectations had been higher than his wife's and added that it would be difficult to break the news to their seven-year-old daughter Gabriella, for who he is the sole carer. 

Richard Ratcliffe: My daughter just asks when mummy is coming home

In a statement, a spokesperson from the Foreign Office said they would "continue to work hard to secure the release of all British nationals unfairly detained in Iran.

“The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister was also pressed on the need for Iran to urgently release all British nationals unfairly detained in Iran, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Anoosheh Ashoori and Morad Tahbaz.

Minister Cleverly met Richard Ratcliffe again today to reaffirm our commitment to reuniting his wife, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, with her family in the UK.

The Foreign Secretary, Minister Cleverly and the FCDO continue to work hard to secure the release of all those British nationals unfairly detained in Iran.”