BORIS Johnson is reportedly travelling to Iran this weekend to try and secure the release of jailed British mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is serving a five-year sentence over allegations, which she denies, of plotting to overthrow the Tehran Government, having been arrested in 2016 during a holiday visit to show her baby daughter Gabriella to her parents.

She is facing a further court appearance this month, following threats to increase her sentence by five years as a result of a gaffe by Mr Johnson.

The Foreign Secretary wrongly told a parliamentary committee that she had been in Iran to train journalists. He later acknowledged that this was not the case.

The Foreign Office refused to confirm the trip.