Theresa May presses Iran over detained British mother

Richard Ratcliffe has been campaigning for the return of his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and daughter Gabriella

Theresa May has urged Iran's president to resolve the case of a British mother detained in Tehran since April.

The prime minister "raised concerns" about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe during a phone call with Hassan Rouhani, Downing Street said.

The British-Iranian charity worker, 37, of north London, is due on trial on as yet unspecified charges.

She was arrested while she was at an airport with her daughter Gabriella after visiting her family on holiday.

'Bargaining chip'

Iranian officials have previously accused Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe of leading a "foreign-linked hostile network"

Her British husband Richard Ratcliffe, 41, of Hampstead, has dismissed the accusation.

He has previously said she has suffered dangerous weight loss, lost some of her hair and became virtually unable to walk since being imprisoned.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: "The prime minister raised concerns about a number of consular cases involving dual nationals, including that of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, and stressed the importance of resolving these cases as we worked to strengthen our diplomatic relationship."

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who is a project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, travelled to Iran on an Iranian passport.

She is being prosecuted in Tehran's Revolutionary Court and her case is to be handled by judge Abolghassem Salavati.

Her two-year-old daughter had her British passport taken away and is staying in Iran with Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's parents but is unable to leave the country.

Mr Ratcliffe said he believes his wife and child are being used as a "political bargaining chip".