THE husband of the British woman held in an Iranian prison called on Boris Johnson yesterday to step up diplomatic efforts to win her release, condemning the government’s “softly, softly” approach.

Richard Ratcliffe, whose wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been in custody since April last year on charges on spying and plotting to topple Iran’s government, met the Foreign Secretary to discuss her case.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, her family and employer the Thomson Reuters Foundation insist that she was in Iran to introduce her young daughter to her parents.