The husband of a British mother imprisoned in Iran last night revealed she is 'angry' at Boris Johnson's handling of the case – but insisted he should not be forced to resign.
Richard Ratcliffe said his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 38, was 'on the verge of a nervous breakdown' and angry at the Foreign Secretary for allowing the situation to become 'a shambles'.
He said her mood was 'uncontrollable' and revealed that she had experienced pain in her breasts and been taken to hospital for an ultrasound, which found lumps.
The mother-of-one has a family history of breast cancer and a former cellmate described seeing her hair falling out in 'huge clumps'.
Boris Johnson has faced calls to resign for suggesting last week that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was training journalists in Iran – comments which could lead to her jail sentence being increased.
He said: 'I do not believe it is in Nazanin's interests for there to be any resignations'.
But her local MP, Labour's Tulip Siddiq has called on the Foreign Secretary to resign if a British woman spends 'even one more day' in an Iranian jail as a result of his claim that she was training journalists in the country.
She said: 'This issue isn't political point-scoring for me; this about getting an innocent mother home'.
She added: 'If the Foreign Secretary goes to Iran, meets Nazanin, takes Richard and officially retracts the statement he's made then at least he's trying to make amends for what he said.'
'If my constituent spends even one more day in prison as a result of what the Foreign Secretary said then he should resign.'
Despite days of political pressure over Mr Johnson's apparent gaffe, Michael Gove faltered yesterday when he was asked why Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was in Iran, saying: 'I don't know.'
The Environment Secretary was asked on BBC One's Andrew Marr Show why Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was in Iran and replied: 'I don't know'.
He went on: 'One of the things I want to stress is there is no reason why Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe should be in prison, so far as any of us know.'
Speaking of Michael Gove's comments to Andrew Marr, during which he suggested he didn't know why Nazanin was in Iran, Richard Ratcliffe said: 'Certainly there was all sorts of anger in our house. The government's position is that the government is clear, and has no doubt, that she was there on holiday.
'I asked the Foreign Office to remind all of the cabinet members that that's the government's position.
His ailing wife was seen by a specialist in Tehran on Saturday. The consultant said he thought the lumps were likely to be benign but added that some cancers were linked to stress, her husband said.
Her husband said he wanted him to keep his job because if he left it would cause instability which could damage his wife's case.
Her husband said: 'New lumps had been identified in each of her breasts.
'Nazanin has been complaining of sharp stabbing pains in her breasts for some months - her breasts have been painful since month five of her detention.
'She had previously had been given an inconclusive mammography by the in-prison gynaecologist.'
He added: 'Nazanin notes that since her court appearance, she has been very angry for a number of days.
'Her mood has become uncontrollable. She loses her temper over the smallest things.
'Everything annoys her, but is unable to see why she gets so cross. Quick to feel like others are ganging up.
'She noted that she is very down, that she cannot handle all this. It is too much pressure, as she becomes part of hostile
'Nazanin reports feeling continually restless and out of focus, unable to concentrate on things like reading.
'This weekend she again suggested she is on the verge of a nervous breakdown - a perpetual sense of not knowing what to do.'
Mr Zaghari-Ratcliffe added: 'As her husband, my complaint is not that Nazanin's imprisonment has become a diplomatic incident this past week. It is that it wasn't for the 19 months before. I thank everyone for their part in making that shift.'
Mr Johnson's comments were seized upon by the Iranian judiciary who hailed her back before the court to face fresh propaganda charges and another five years behind bars.
The mother-of-one, 38, 'expressed anger' at Mr Johnson over the 'shambles' her case has become but her family said they do not believe the Foreign Secretary should quit.
Asked today what the British mother-of-one was doing in Iran, Environment Secretary Mr Gove said: 'I don't know.'
The remark risks casting doubt over the British mother-of-one's account of her time in Iran - even though the official Foreign Office position is she was visiting her family.
Mr Gove also defended his Cabinet colleague Boris Johnson, who is facing growing calls to be sacked as Foreign Secretary over his potentially costly gaffe.
It comes as Mr Johnson finally spoke to Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband today and agreed to meet with him either this week or next.
Jon Trickett MP, Labour's shadow minister for the Cabinet Office, said: 'Boris Johnson's cavalier approach to international diplomacy is compounded this morning by Michael Gove claiming he has no idea what Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was doing in Iran. It has always been clear, she was on holiday visiting her family.
Tory MP for Broxstowe, Anna Soubry, branded Mr Gove's comments a 'deeply concerning and irresponsible response'.
Mr Gove insisted Mr Johnson should not be ousted and suggested calls for him to go are a distraction from those who should be blamed for Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe's ordeal - the Iranians.
He told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: 'We know that the Iranian regime is capable of abusing the human rights of its own citizens.
'It appears here to be harming the human rights of someone whose plight necessarily moves us all.'
Told that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her husband Richard insist she was in Iran with her young daughter Gabriella to visit her parents, Mr Gove said: 'In that case I take exactly her husband's assurance in that regard.'
Asked if he thought she was training journalists, he said: 'Well, her husband says that she was there on holiday, and he's the person who should know.
'Her family should be the people who are in our thoughts at this time.'
He said criticism of Mr Johnson was part of an 'effort to shift the blame away from those who are really at fault here, and that is the Iranian regime'.
And he refused to say the Foreign Secretary should apologise for his blunder.
He added: 'There is nothing the Iranian regime would like more than for the blame to be shifted from them onto us.
'And I think we make a big mistake if we blame politicians in a democracy who are trying to do the right thing for the plight of a woman who is being imprisoned by a regime that is a serial abuser of human rights.
'Who's in the dock here? Iran.'
He added: 'If the Iranian judiciary wants to use the words of a democrat in order to justify an unjustifiable decision, it is our responsibility to call them out.
'Whatever we as democrats say is going to be seized upon by extremists for their own purposes - and we play their game if we point the finger at democrats who are trying to do the right thing.'
'It appears Gove is more interested in protecting Johnson's job than the liberty of a British citizen in jail in Iran.
'Theresa May must ensure Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe does not pay the price for her ministers' bungling.'
Jeremy Corbyn and London Mayor Sadiq Khan have both called for Mr Johnson to be sacked over comments.
Speaking this morning, Mr Khan said: 'I think he has got to go.
'If Theresa May was a stronger Prime Minster she would have sacked him a long time ago.'
Mr Corbyn said: 'We've put up with Johnson embarrassing and undermining our country with his incompetence and colonial throwback views and putting our citizens at risk for long enough. It's time for him to go.'
Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband Richard has demanded that Mr Johnson 'get on a plane' to meet his wife after his blunder.
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