Western Sahara Conflict

Lord Godson Excerpts

Monday 27th October 2025 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Godson]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recent reports of increasing Iranian support for the Polisario Front; and what steps they are taking, in coordination with allies, to address the risks posed by Iranian influence in the Western Sahara conflict.

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Baroness Chapman of Darlington) (Lab)]

My Lords, regarding the allegation, the UK has not seen evidence of Iranian support for the Polisario Front. However, we continue to monitor Iranian activity in the region. The UK has long condemned Iran’s destabilising provision of political, military and financial support to its proxies and partners. We will continue to work with partners to tackle this destabilising activity.

[Lord Godson (Con)]

I thank the Minister for her Answer. However, there is much open-source evidence of a mutual admiration society between the present Iranian regime, the IRGC and the Polisario on the other side. First, and not least bearing in mind that we do not have as big a footprint in that region as we ought to, will the Minister commit to reassessing some of that open-source and other evidence? Secondly, in the light of the fact that the UK Government seem to be going in the opposite direction from many partners on Polisario—notably the United States, where bipartisan legislation is being introduced in both the US House of Representatives and the US Senate to designate Polisario as a foreign terrorist organisation—will the Minister say more to the House about the journey which the present Minister in the Commons, Mr Falconer, has gone on in open meetings with the Polisario, given that its contribution to peace in the region has been, to say the least, slender?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I assure the noble Lord that mutual admiration is not something that we are engaged in. Minister Falconer did meet the Polisario on 5 August in the context of the declaration that we signed to recognise Morocco’s intentions in Western Sahara. The UK has not done this in the past, but we feel that it was the right, pragmatic way forward, given the length of time that this conflict has gone on and the situation that we are now in. It was the right thing to do. We remain incredibly close to our friends in Morocco and we hope that this can proceed in a way that brings peace and stability to the entire region.