Britain has spent almost £1million of taxpayers’ cash holding an Iranian stalker at the centre of a prisoner swap debate for almost 16 years longer than his original minimum term, The Independent can reveal.
Lindsay and Craig Foreman have called for Britain to deport Richard Jan, who was once described as Britain’s worst stalker, because they believe he could be the key to their release from Iranian jail.
The couple were detained on a motorbike tour in the country 17 months ago and sentenced to 10 years in prison on spying charges, which they deny.
They claim the British government is failing to act on clear signals from Iranian officials that Jan, who has spent 23 years languishing in maximum security British prisons as his health deteriorates, is the “only avenue” to negotiate their release.
The 59-year-old was first eligible for deportation to Iran after his seven and half year minimum tariff expired in August 2010. Despite multiple requests from Iranian officials for his return to the country, Britain has so far refused to remove him.
More than £900k of taxpayers’ cash is estimated to have been spent incarcerating him in Category A prisons HMP Wakefield and HMP Frankland since his tariff expired, according to Ministry of Justice figures on annual costs per prisoner. This excludes the cost of his healthcare, which is funded separately by NHS England.
The Foreman’s son, Joe Bennett, has questioned why Britain is continuing to waste taxpayers’ money holding Jan when his removal could help to bring his parents home.
“At a time when public finances are under huge pressure and people are being told there isn’t money for essential services, spending close to £1 million keeping Richard Jan imprisoned beyond tariff feels increasingly hard to justify, especially if it is not leading to any meaningful progress or outcome,” he told The Independent.
“If there’s a solution out there to get my parents back, why are we not exploring it?”
A joint investigation by The Independent and Sky, published on Sunday, revealed Jan’s case was raised six months ago by an Iranian official holding Lindsay and Craig, both 53, in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.
His incarceration was also raised during negotiations in 2021 for the release of British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was detained for six years in Iran before she was finally freed after the British government settled a £400m arms debt with the country.
Despite a Foreign Office policy not to do prisoner exchanges, Craig Foreman has pleaded for Britain to act. He said: “If it means that they can get us out by doing a swap, then why not?
“I believe this guy, from what I’ve heard, is fairly old now and ill. Surely if he gets back to Iran via a prisoner swap, what harm could he be doing to the UK?”
Labour has made removing foreign national offenders a key priority, with home secretary Shabana Mahmood warning “we will send you packing” for breaking the law.
In August, the government brought in new powers allowing foreign criminals to be deported after they have served just 30 per cent of their sentence. Those serving life sentences, like Jan, are considered for deportation under the Tariff-Expired Removal Scheme once their minimum term is up.
Jan, who was jailed in 2004 for a terrifying stalking campaign against 200 victims, was a dual British-Iranian national until he renounced his British passport in jail.
A deportation order was issued by the Home Office in 2013, but his removal was blocked by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in case it risked undermining public confidence in the justice system.
Without British citizenship, he will never be freed in this country, but the Parole Board has repeatedly refused to recommend his release to Iran because it will be unable to monitor him there. This leaves him “effectively trapped”, according to his lawyer, Mladen Kesar.
Over the course of his imprisonment, Iranian officials have raised concerns about his deteriorating mental and physical health and called for him to be sent to Iran.
Mr Bennett’s MP Tony Vaughan said it is in the public interest to remove foreign criminals.
He called for the government fully explore if Jan’s removal can help the Foreman’s. He told The Independent: “It’s an obvious issue that needs to be looked at, given Iran’s history of hostage taking, and I understand the position of His Majesty’s Government, that they don’t do prisoner swaps, but this wouldn’t need to be done by the way of a prisoner swap.
“There would be other ways to do it, which, particularly in the case of Richard Jan’s case, simply discharge their statutory obligations to deport foreign national offenders, which is in the public interest as a principle.”
Until last week, Jan was detained alongside some of Britain’s worst killers inside Frankland, which holds Milly Dowler’s killer Levi Bellfield and Sarah Everard’s murderer Wayne Couzens. However, he was transferred to a secure hospital in recent days, according to his mother Peggy Jan, 90, who claims he has been “left to rot”.
Now almost 60, he mostly uses a wheelchair as struggles with a litany of worsening health conditions.
Jan’s friend, chemistry teacher Peter Stanley, said Jan has “done his time”, adding that murderers are often released quicker.
“I think they [the government] should take up the Iranians on this issue and they should release him to Iran, where he’ll be much better looked after,” he told The Independent.
“And also, it would be a win, win situation, in the sense that it could be part of an exchange whereby the British couple could be released at the same time. I don’t really see why the British government would have any opposition to this idea.”
The Iranian embassy has confirmed there have been “longstanding requests” concerning Jan’s return to Iran, adding that they viewed his case as a “humanitarian” matter.
A UK government spokesperson warned against publishing the Foreman family’s appeal, adding: “There is no truth whatsoever to the claims of a potential exchange arrangement, and giving credence to these claims is not only wrong, but risks hindering all the other efforts currently being made by this government to secure the Foremans’ release.”
However, appearing on Sky on Sunday, justice secretary David Lammy denied that the government’s mind is “closed” to an exchange.
“Those arrangements can be made,” he said. “It would not be right for me to comment on the particularities, because it would undermine the discussions that we are having with the Iranians.”
The Ministry of Justice declined to comment on the figures.
