At the behest of Conservative Lord Godson, the House of Lords convened a debate on Monday, October 27, to scrutinize the alleged connections between the Polisario Front and Iran. «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?» Lord Godson inquired as he opened the session. Responding to the query, Baroness Chapman of Darlington, Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, remarked, «regarding the allegation, the UK has not seen evidence of Iranian support for the Polisario Front. 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». This stance mirrors the response previously given on September 2 by British diplomacy to a written question from the same parliamentarian on the matter. The debate setting allowed Godson to retort. With a touch of irony, he observed 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». Another Conservative member of the upper house took the floor to criticize the meeting on August 5 in London between Minister Hamish Falconer and a Polisario delegation. «Could the Minister kindly comment on why the Minister met the Polisario Front, especially when we have been encouraging British businesses to move into the Western Sahara to work with one of our oldest allies, and that the Polisario Front has now withdrawn from the ceasefire that it agreed with the Moroccans?» he emphasized. The minister defended her colleague's actions, explaining that «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. 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.». The United Kingdom officially expressed its support on June 1 for the autonomy plan proposed by Morocco for the Sahara. A stance that King Mohammed VI praised on July 29 during his Throne Day speech.
