Petition updateFree Lindsay and Craig Foreman

Yesterday, Andy Burnham Said Their Names in Parliament.

Free Lindsay and CraigFolkstone, United Kingdom
Oct 22, 2026

Yesterday was one of the most emotional, significant and memorable days of this entire journey. After months of campaigning, countless conversations, difficult moments and an extraordinary amount of support, we stood together in Westminster to make sure Lindsay and Craig's voices were heard at the very highest level of Government.

And yesterday, they were.

I sat in the Public Gallery of the House of Commons as our local MP, Tony Vaughan, raised Mum and Craig's case directly with Prime Minister Andy Burnham during Prime Minister's Questions. Hearing their names spoken in Parliament, knowing how far we've come and how much they have endured, was a moment I will never forget.

The Prime Minister described their sentence as appalling and unjustifiable and reaffirmed the Government's commitment to pursuing their release relentlessly. Those words matter, and I welcome them. But Tony also raised two questions we have been asking for some time: why their detention has not been formally recognised as arbitrary and whether the Government will exercise diplomatic protection. Those questions remain unanswered.

Following Prime Minister's Questions, we came together to deliver our petition, supported by more than 100,000 people, to the Foreign Office. Seeing so many people make the journey to London, give up their time and stand alongside us was incredibly moving. Some have supported us from the very beginning; others have only recently discovered Mum and Craig's story. Yet everyone was united by the same simple belief: they should be home.

To everyone who joined us yesterday, signed the petition, shared our story, contacted their MP or sent us messages of encouragement, thank you. I hope you understand just how much your support means. What began as a family desperately trying to find a way forward has become a community of people refusing to let Mum and Craig be forgotten.

And yesterday, that community made itself heard.

The media coverage throughout the day helped carry that message beyond Westminster, putting both their circumstances and our calls for further action in front of a much wider audience. Every conversation, every interview and every person who shares their story helps ensure that their situation remains impossible to ignore.

But there is something about a day like yesterday that is difficult to explain.

You experience these extraordinary moments, surrounded by people who care, watching something you've worked towards finally happen. You feel proud, grateful and hopeful. And then the day ends, everyone makes their way home, and you're reminded that the two people at the centre of it all are still sitting in prison.

Mum and Craig didn't get to experience yesterday alongside us. They couldn't see the people who came to support them or hear the conversations taking place on their behalf. I hope, somehow, they will come to know just how many people stood up for them.

Now our attention turns to Tuesday 27 October.

I have a confirmed meeting with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, and yesterday has made that meeting even more important.

We are not going into it simply to repeat how appalling their situation is. That has been acknowledged, including now by the Prime Minister. We are going in seeking answers, decisions and a clearer way forward.

We need to understand why the Government has not formally recognised their detention as arbitrary, despite repeated calls from the family and our legal team. We need a substantive discussion about diplomatic protection, the additional measures available to the British Government and the potential legal avenues through which greater pressure could be brought to bear.

We also need to know what happens next, who is responsible for taking those steps and how urgently they will be pursued.

I recognise that diplomacy is complicated and that much of the work takes place behind closed doors. I also recognise the engagement the Foreign Secretary has already undertaken on Mum and Craig's behalf. But after everything they have endured, I believe we are entitled to ask whether every available avenue is being fully explored.

Yesterday showed what can happen when people come together with determination, compassion and a shared purpose. It was an important moment, and one we should all feel proud of. But it cannot be the destination. It has to become the foundation for what happens next.

There is still a long way to go, but we are no longer standing quietly on the sidelines hoping to be heard. We are being heard, and now we need that to translate into meaningful action.

To everybody who has helped bring us this far, thank you. Please continue talking about Mum and Craig and keeping their story alive, keep signing the petition, if you've donated thasnk you. Your support has helped us reach this moment, and it will be just as important in the days ahead.

Yesterday was a day I will never forget.

Joe

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