A Significant Week, a Long-Awaited Meeting, and the Road Ahead for Mum and Craig

It's difficult to know where to begin when reflecting on the past week. So much has happened, so many people have come together, and for the first time in a long while, I feel we've taken some important steps forward in our fight to bring Mum and Craig home.

But as I write this, they are still sitting in Evin Prison. And that is the reality behind everything we do.

Last Wednesday, we gathered in Westminster alongside family, friends, former hostages, parliamentarians and supporters to deliver our petition to the Government. More than 110,000 people have added their voices to ours, calling for Mum and Craig's freedom.

Their case was also raised at Prime Minister's Questions, while incredible media coverage helped carry their story even further. To everyone who signed, shared, travelled to London or supported us from afar, thank you. You've all played a part in getting us here.

The meeting with the Foreign Secretary

On Tuesday 27th October, after months of pushing for the opportunity, we finally sat down with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband.

I went into that meeting determined not simply to tell our story again, but to explain why we believe a different approach is needed.

There were moments when we had to work hard to get our points across, but ultimately I do believe we were listened to and heard. Importantly, the Foreign Secretary told us that the book is not closed on the options we're asking the Government to consider.

These include formally recognising Mum and Craig's detention as arbitrary, extending diplomatic protection and considering proceedings at the International Court of Justice. These aren't simply legal terms or political gestures. They represent potential ways for our Government to challenge what is happening to two innocent British citizens and pursue their release.

One of the most important parts of the meeting was ensuring that Mum and Craig's own wishes were understood. They want their Government to call out what is happening to them, to recognise their detention for what it is. After everything they've endured, their voices must remain central to the decisions being made about their future.

I believe that message was received.

The Foreign Secretary assured us that bringing them home is a priority, and I don't doubt that we share the same goal. We're on the same side in wanting that outcome, even if we're not yet fully aligned on how to achieve it.

We left without tangible new commitments on the specific actions we've requested, and I have to be honest about that. But the conversation remains open, and there is an opportunity to build on the engagement we've established.

I'm encouraged by that, but encouragement alone cannot be the measure of success.

And what about Mum and Craig?

Amid all the meetings, interviews and growing support, I never want us to lose sight of the two people at the centre of this.

Mum and Craig are coping. But coping is not the same as doing well.

They're finding ways to get through each day with what little they have, trying to maintain their strength, dignity and sense of purpose in circumstances nobody should ever have to endure.

They remain separated for much of their time, in dreadful conditions, with limited basic supplies and restricted, closely monitored contact with their families.

These are two people who set off to explore the world, meet people and celebrate what makes life worth living. Instead, they've been imprisoned and sentenced to years behind bars for crimes they did not commit.

As they approach 22 months in detention, I worry that the passage of time can almost make their situation seem normal.

It isn't. Not for them, not for our family, and it should never become normal for anyone else.

No amount of resilience makes their circumstances acceptable. They deserve to be home, living their lives, not simply finding ways to survive another day in prison.

The strength of the people standing with us

Last week, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arbitrary Detention and Hostage Affairs also sent a letter to the Foreign Secretary, signed by 49 parliamentarians from across both Houses of Parliament, supporting calls for stronger action.

That matters enormously.

What began as a family desperately trying to be heard has become a campaign supported across the country, by parliamentarians, legal experts, former hostages and thousands of people who recognise the injustice.

Every signature, message, conversation and shared story has contributed to that.

Mum and Craig's journey was always about human connection, kindness and bringing people together. Even in the most difficult circumstances imaginable, those values continue to inspire people to stand alongside them. There's something incredibly powerful about that.

So what happens now?

We keep going.

The meeting with the Foreign Secretary was something we'd worked towards for months, but it was never intended to be the finishing line.

We need to build on that engagement, continue asking difficult questions and ensure the legal and diplomatic options available receive the consideration they deserve.

We'll continue working with our legal team, parliamentarians and campaigners, while holding the Government to account and recognising that we share the same ambition.

I don't believe those things are contradictory. You can be grateful for someone's engagement and still ask them to do more. You can recognise progress while believing the current approach isn't enough.

And you can remain hopeful without pretending everything is suddenly going to be okay.

That's where I find myself today. Hopeful that these conversations will lead somewhere meaningful, encouraged by the extraordinary support we've received, but acutely aware that until Mum and Craig are home, there's still so much left to do.

Thank you for continuing to stand with us

To everyone who has been part of this remarkable week, thank you.

Whether you stood with us in Westminster, watched from home, signed the petition, shared our interviews, supported us financially or sent a message of encouragement, you've helped us reach a place we couldn't have reached alone.

Please continue sharing Mum and Craig's story, talking about their situation and encouraging others to add their names to the petition.

We've shown what can happen when people come together and refuse to let an injustice be forgotten. Now we need to carry that same energy into the next stage.

This week has given us reasons to feel hopeful. But there's a difference between being heard and seeing change, and we owe it to Mum and Craig to keep pushing until that change happens.

They deserve justice. They deserve their freedom. And more than anything, they deserve to come home.

Thank you, as always, for standing alongside us.

Joe