Son of British couple imprisoned in Iran seeks Trump's help after being 'let down' by Keir Starmer

WASHINGTON, DC: A British son is making a desperate plea to President Donald Trump for help as his parents languish in an Iranian prison.

Joe Bennett says the situation for his imprisoned parents has grown even more dire as tensions surrounding Iran intensify. 

The embattled son lamented the lack of help coming from Keir Starmer’s government back home in the UK.

'Hell on Earth' inside Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison

Bennett’s parents, Craig and Lindsay Foreman, have now spent more than a year locked up in Evin Prison, a notorious detention facility in Tehran long associated with political prisoners and foreign detainees.

The couple was arrested by Iranian authorities in January 2025 while traveling the world on a motorcycling trip. Iranian officials later accused them of espionage and sentenced them to 10 years behind bars on suspicion of spying.  

Bennett insisted the conditions inside the prison have deteriorated sharply as regional tensions rise and more detainees are thrown behind bars.

"Conditions have intensified over the last couple of weeks, to say the least, as you might imagine with the complexity of war," Bennett told Fox News on Saturday, March 14.

The prison, he said, was already overcrowded before authorities began locking up hordes of protesters in recent months.

"Food is scarce," he added. "We’re worried about the replenishment of their stocks of food. I mean, it’s unsanitary conditions. It has been described as ‘hell on Earth’ by them."

The situation has become even more nerve-racking as military activity escalates in the region.

"With the bombs that are dropping and the activity that’s happening there at the moment, the anxiety is heightened for us and for them as well," he said.

Bennett made his appeal while speaking Thursday in Washington, DC, at an event hosted by the McCain Institute (the US-UK Transatlantic Conference on Hostage-Taking and Arbitrary Detention), where he blasted the response from British leadership.

Joe Bennett's frustration with the UK government

Bennett did not hide his frustration with the British government’s response to his parents’ case, describing the advocacy from London as essentially nonexistent.

Speaking to Fox News, he took aim at Prime Minister Starmer.

"The clear message to the UK government and Starmer is to stop hiding behind this as a consular case," Bennett told Fox News. "I think that was put out the window when they were sentenced to 10 years for espionage, accused of being spies for the Israeli Mossad and the UK government."

Bennett continued, "What we haven’t seen is leadership qualities from Keir Starmer. We haven’t seen him advocate since their sentencing to, as you say, condemn this sham process and the treatment of UK nationals." 

According to Bennett, the silence has been painful for the family.

Starmer's silence has left Bennett's family feeling "let down," he said. "We feel there’s an opportunity to do so and there still is."

To Bennett, the situation is more than just a diplomatic dispute. He sees it as something far more serious.

He stressed that his parents’ detention and sentencing "is hostage-taking."

"It affects not just the UK, the US as well, and Western civilization," Bennett added. "Innocent people are being targeted for leverage as political pawns."

A direct appeal to Trump

With the conflict escalating, Bennett is urging Trump to keep his parents’ safety in mind if military action continues.

"Two things I’d like to say to Mr Trump is, firstly, that safety is important," Bennett told Fox News. "Missiles have hit Evin in June of last year, but also were very close, so I think the target — I just want him to be concise that, you know, so that Evin isn’t a part of that, and, secondly, is to not forget that they are there."

He noted that his parents are not the only foreigners being held in the facility and that Americans are also locked up there.

"And as a humanitarian plea, from a son for his mother’s release is what I’m asking for," he said.

Meanwhile, the security situation in the region continues to worsen.

The US Embassy in Baghdad issued a fresh warning Saturday, urging Americans to leave Iraq after an Iranian missile struck the embassy building earlier in the day.

In its warning, the embassy said citizens should "leave Iraq now."

"US citizens choosing to remain in Iraq are strongly encouraged to reconsider in light of the significant threat posed by Iran-aligned terrorist militia groups," the embassy wrote.

As Iran launches strikes against US targets across the Middle East, Washington has urged Americans to leave more than a dozen countries across the region.

Separately, the US also ordered non-emergency government employees and the relatives of government employees to depart Oman, according to Reuters.