I was first elected as MP for Hampstead and Kilburn in 2015. My constituent Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested in 2016.
So campaigning to free Nazanin has been a constant in my parliamentary career to date, which has included countless debates and Urgent Questions in the House of Commons.
Nazanin’s husband Richard Ratcliffe would often pop in to watch these debates, sitting alone in the gallery.
He cut a lonely figure in the early days - an accountant from West Hampstead by day, a relentless campaigner for his wife by night.
Sometimes after a strategy meeting in our local Café Nero, he would say to me that he was heading to stay the night at his sister’s house because there were ‘too many empty beds’ in his flat.
So it felt surreal today to welcome Richard, Nazanin and their daughter Gabriella to Parliament.
Ever since I’ve known Richard, he’s been defined by his solitude. Today he was constantly holding his wife’s hand and kissing his little daughter.
I’ve never seen him look happier. Not only did he look ten years younger, he looked at peace.
The haunted look in his eyes seems to have disappeared and the interaction between the three of them was heart-warming to watch.
It was incredible to see how happy they all were, but it also felt very poignant to think that Gabriella missed out on 6 years of family life because her mother was caught as a pawn in a dispute between two countries.
Speaking to Nazanin yesterday, I was struck by how calm and collected she is talking about her time in jail.
It’s clear that she’s gone through the worst possible trauma, but she does not want to dwell on it or let it detract from her happiness right now.
Nazanin’s focus was very much on the present. She wanted to enjoy the view of Westminster and the River Thames from the Parliament Terrace, and show her daughter the seagulls.
She was overjoyed to receive a special present from the Speaker of the House of Commons – a tile from Parliament that decades of Prime Ministers have walked on – her own physical piece of our Parliament itself.
She told us excitedly that she has ‘a thing’ for tiles, so it was the perfect gift.
Her questions to me were mainly about the local community where we both live: the best parks to visit with her daughter and the best local ice cream.
It was like speaking to any other local mother from West Hampstead, except I had to occasionally remind myself that this was a woman who hadn’t actually seen her daughter for the last 3 years.
I feel I owe it to Nazanin to ask for a review into the handling of her case.
I’ve written to the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee to ask for an inquiry into Nazanin’s case.
This needs to get to the bottom of why it took so long to pay the £400 million debt we owed to Iran and bring Nazanin back, and the wider issue of the UK’s response to hostage taking by Iran.
I’m proud of my constituents Nazanin, Richard and Gabriella.
They are an ordinary family who were thrust into the most extraordinary circumstances and they rose to the challenge.
I hope they can now rebuild their lives and make up for all the lost years.
